Deadline has reported that Makeba’s biopic is currently being made. 2016 marks eight years since the passing of the singer and civil rights activist.
The life and legacy of Makeba was explored in Mika Kaurismäki’s 2011 documentary, Mama Africa.
The Miriam Makeba Estate, Miriam Makeba Foundation and Mama Africa Cultural & Social Trust are involved in the creation of the biopic, which doesn’t have a title yet.
Among the film’s producers are Suzanne de Passe, who wrote the Billie Holiday movie Lady Sings the Blues, and her long-time business partner, Madison Jones of de Passe Jones Entertainment.
Journalist and Makeba’s former publicist Marc Le Chat will also be part of the team producing the film. According to Variety, Le Chat first met Makeba after attending and covering her performance with Paul Simon on his Graceland concert in Zimbabwe in the late 1980s. After she returned to South Africa in 1990, he became her publicist and confidant for 15 years.
According to Deadline, Makeba was Africa’s first Grammy winner and recorded and performed songs in English, Portuguese, Hebrew and Swahili.
