Gabourey Sidibe Makes Her Directorial Debut In This New Short Film

On the cusp of her memoir that dropped in May, actor and author Gabourey Sidibe has now added "director" to her talented titles.

In partnership with Refinery29's Shatterbox Anthology—a film series that gives 12 women directors the support to tell stories through the female lens—Sidibe presents The Tale of Four.

Inspired by Nina Simone's 1966 legendary song, "Four Women," this short film shows the complex realities of the black mothers, daughters and revolutionaries who are fighting against police brutality and the atrocity that is mass incarceration.

"Weaving together narratives from female activists, sexual assault survivors, and the children of imprisoned moms, the film resonates as a portrait of contemporary American society still infected by the racism elegized by Simone over 50 years ago," Refinery29 says. "But if the brave women of Sidibe's short seem doomed to have to fight the same cruelties and prejudices perpetrated against Black bodies for centuries, their fearless honesty also echoes the hope that things might finally start to change."

Watch the film below.

Cast & Crew

Jussie Smollett, Dana Gourrier, Ledisi Young, Aisha Hinds, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Meagan Kimberly Smith

Director: Gabourey Sidibe, Co-Writer/Producer: Kia Perry, Co-Writer: Ayanna McMichael, Producers: Lisa Cortes, Shannon Gibson, Co-Producer: Xavier Francis, Line Producer: Kate Bolger, Executive Producers: Amy Emmerich, Stone Roberts, Director of Photography: Daniel Patterson, Production Designer: Aaqil Ka, Costume Designer: Trenton Dallas, Editor: Dean Gonzalez