Source: Sundance Institute / Sundance
Back in 2015, Aziah “Zola” Wells King took the Twitterverse by storm after posting one of the most riveting tales to ever come across the social media network. Now, the epic stripper Twitter tale goes wrong is forever immortalized by way of a new film that hits theaters this summer and the trailer is as intense as expected.
We wrote about the so-called “Zola Story” back when it happened, and we’ll share a portion of that article for context below.
From Cecil Lennox:
Through her Twitter handle @_zolarmoon, she spilled the beans on how she met a young white stripper who convinced her to leave their hometown of Detroit for a trip to Florida to strip for bigger bucks. Afterwards, nothing goes as planned and the chain of events is the kind of sensation Hollywood pays millions to recreate.
And for those of you who’ve never witnessed the original thread, the entire story is unveiled here. And as noted in the piece above, even director Ava DuVernay found herself enthralled by the story of Zola and the stripper from Hades itself.
Zola made its debut at Sundance in 2020 and has been in development prior to 2018 with Taylour Paige was announced to play the lead role of A’Ziah King albeit a slightly fictionalized version of the real King. Directed by Janicza Bravo, the film also stars Riley Keough as Stefani, Nicholas Braun as Stefani’s boyfriend, and Colman Domingo as Stefani’s pimp.
As the trailer below depicts, the cross-country trip framed as a way for Stefani to pick up some cash from the shaky buns clubs turns into something else entirely. For those who read the story, one can imagine those details making it to the screen will make for a wild ride.
Zola is slated for a June 2021 release.
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Photo: Sundance Institute
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