Did we ever envision a day when a whole-ass Twitter thread would become a movie? Well, it happened alright; an epic story by A’Ziah King, aka ZOLA, told on Twitter (since deleted) became “Zola.” The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2020 to major acclaim. Directed by Janicza Bravo (“Atlanta,” “Lemon“) and starring Taylour Paige and Riley Keough, “Zola” is about Aa stripper named Zola who embarks on a wild road trip to Florida. And wild it is, the first trailer shows a story of friendship gone sideways, betrayal, and bitches being messy, to paraphrase our Sundance review by Jessica Kiang.
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The movie also features Colman Domingo, Nicholas Braun, and Jason Mitchell. Here’s the official synopsis:
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“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.”
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Thus began the odyssey of one A’Ziah King, aka ZOLA. From acclaimed writer/director Janicza Bravo, Zola’s stranger than fiction saga, which she first told in a now-iconic series of viral, uproarious tweets, comes to dazzling cinematic life. Zola (Taylour Paige), a Detroit waitress, strikes up a new friendship with a customer, Stefani (Riley Keough), who seduces her to join a weekend of dancing and partying in Florida. What at first seems like a glamorous trip full of “hoeism” rapidly transforms into a 48-hour journey involving a nameless pimp, an idiot boyfriend, some Tampa gangsters, and other unexpected adventures in this wild, see-it-to-believe-it tale.
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A24 is set to release “Zola” on June 30, 2021, but so far, the marketing in the trailers is keeping it safe and just listing the indie as “coming this summer.” That’s unclear if it means a release date change is in the air, but regardless, “Zola” will be with us soon.
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