Winston Duke, who was born in Trinidad, will star as Jamaican national hero and human rights activist Marcus Garvey in a film entitled “Marked Man” from Amazon Studios. He has appeared in the films “Black Panther,” “Us,” and “Nine Days.” Actors Jesse Williams and DeWanda Wise are in discussions about starring in the film along with Duke.

The film will be directed by Andrew Dosunmu. Director Dosunmu first gained attention in the United States for his work directing music videos for artists like Isaac Hayes, Angie Stone, Common, Tracy Chapman, Wyclef Jean, Kelis, Aaron Neville, and Maxwell. His first feature film was “Restless City” in 2011, and his following film “Mother of George” received critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. His most recent project was directing “Where is Kyra” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland in 2017, and his original Netflix project “Beauty” is scheduled for release later in 2021.

“Marked Man” is based on the biography of Garvey “Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey” by Colin Grant. Garvey was a major figure in the Black nationalism movement of the 20th century. Amazon Studios owns the rights to the book. The script for the film was written by the British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster Kwame Kwei-Armah and was initially developed by Esther Douglas. Kwei-Armah recently wrote the screenplay for the “Viagra” musical film by Spike Lee.

The film tells the story of a young Black man who joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover in the 1920s and infiltrates the UNIA organization founded by Garvey. This tests his loyalty to both his race and his country as he becomes tired of both Hoover’s and Garvey’s actions.

Producers for the Amazon Studios film are Mark Gordon and Matt Jackson. Executive producers are Kwei-Armah, Glendon Palmer and Douglas. Robert Teitel and Joanne Lee.

Photo Source: Deposit Photos