Malala Yousafzai is entering Hollywood with her production house ‘Extracurricular’. She has signed a deal for three films with indie studio A24 for a still-untitled feature documentary on the legendary “haenyeo” society of fisherwomen who lives on South Korea’s Jeju Island.
The Apple Original Films title is directed by Peabody Awards nominee Sue Kim. The film is the first project to go into production after Apple+ and Extracurricular struck a deal last year in March.
In her latest statement, she said that she wants to expand her activism through every available platform.
Malala Yousafzai’s production company Extracurricular’s first set of projects includes a feature film with #DontLookUp director Adam McKay based on Elaine Hsieh Chou’s book “Disorientation.” https://t.co/j884lGb8Mc pic.twitter.com/hEt18FocDr
— Variety (@Variety) September 27, 2022
I’ve realized that we shouldn’t limit activism to the work of NGOs only: There’s also the element of changing people’s minds and perspectives — and that requires a bit more work,” she says. “You’re often told in Hollywood…that if one show about a person of color is made, then that’s it — you don’t need to make another one. That needs to change.” Malala said.
Read more: Malala Yousafzai, two other Pakistani women make it to BBC’s 100 Women
She said she wants to alter the industry’s dynamics by creating shows with a focus on people of color. “I’m a woman, a Muslim, a Pashtun, a Pakistani, and a person of color. And I watched ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Severance,’ where the leads are white people — and especially a lot of white men. If we can watch those shows, then I think audiences should be able to watch shows that are made by people of color, and produced and directed by people of color, with people of color in the lead. That is possible, and I’m gonna make it happen,” said Malala Yousafzai.
One of the first three projects will also be a scripted series based on Asha Lemmie’s novel Fifty Words for Rain on a woman’s search for acceptance in post-World War II Japan. Overall, the Apple pact will cover dramas, documentaries, comedies, animation, and children’s series.