Issa Rae of Insecure and actor, activist and Dazed cover star Amandla Stenberg are set to star opposite each out in the adaptation of the Young Adult novel The Hate U Give.
The story follows a Black 16-year-old girl (Stenberg) named Starr, who witnesses her unarmed best friend Kahlil’s shooting by a police officer. Starr finds herself torn between her prep school life and poor neighbourhood, while fighting for justice and to make her own voice heard. Rae will play an activist named April, who helps Starr on her journey.
The film, based on Angie Thomas’ debut novel, is directed by George Tillman Jr, and also sees Common in the role of Starr’s father, and Girls Trip’s Regina Hall as her mother.
Insecure is currently in its second season on HBO, and Rae recently appeared in Jay-Z’s “Moonlight” video alongside Lakeith Stanfield, Hannibal Burress and more.
In a recent interview with Dazed, Stenberg spoke about using mainstream platforms, like film and social media, as a catalyst for real world change. “G rowing up having this platform, I feel a consistent responsibility to utilise it well. I think, for a long amount of time, the most effective thing was to use my platform to speak out openly about the topics that were important to me, such as cultural appropriation, black women feeling their power and learning how to have self-confidence – especially black teenage girls.
“That was really important for me for a period, but I’m not sure it’s the most effective (thing) any more. I feel like social media is a little oversaturated with some of those conversations – not to say that they aren’t important – but I think now is a really critical moment to move from conversations to action.”
