Outlander Maria Doyle Kennedy is set to star in the film Grandma Lee’s movie is untitleda defiant queer drama inspired by a real-life 1980s transgender icon and directed by Ian Gabriel and Gabe Gabriel.
The Irish actress and singer, who plays Jocasta Cameron on the Starz drama, is also known for her role as Queen Catherine of Aragon in The TudorsVera Bates in Downton Abbeyand Mrs. S in Black orphan. Her film credits include The Commitments, Sing Street, Albert Nobbs, The Conjuring 2 and Wolfwalkers.
In the Canada-South Africa-Ireland co-production, Doyle Kennedy will star as Irene, an estranged mother seeking forgiveness from Lee, a stubborn disco queen played by gender activist Simone Herradine. “The world feels very balanced right now,” Doyle Kennedy said in a statement. “It is time to acknowledge the mistakes of the past so that we do not carry them into the future.”
The film’s titular character is based on Granny Lee, a white trans performer who dominated the underground LGBTIQ+ disco scene in South Africa in the 1980s during the apartheid era. “For me, this film is not only my big screen debut, but a deeply personal celebration of trans visibility, legacy, and love. Stepping into this role honors the resilience, magic, and challenge of LGBTIQ+ lives that have sometimes sought to be erased from history,” Hiradin added in her own statement.
The cast includes Quebec actor Paul Ahmarani and South African performers Ntando Msi, Chioma Umila, Will Chandler, Oliver Carnegie and Lou Ventre. Cameras on the untitled queer drama is scheduled to run in Cape Town from the end of May until the end of June.
The film will be directed by the father-son team of Ian Gabriel and Gabe Gabriel, who previously collaborated on the GLAAD Media Award-nominated film. Runs in the familywhich aired worldwide in 2023. The screenplay for the Granny Lee project was written by Gabriel, a transgender writer, director, and actor who was the head writer on the Netflix TV series. Mandala crimes And guidance No hiding hereSouth Africa’s first gay romance film.
Ian Gabriel’s feature film credits include Death of whistleblowers On Prime Video, and four corners, South Africa’s entry for Best International Picture at the 86th Academy Awards. Sharing producer credits on the project are Shante Joshi, Yannick Letourneau, Cindy Gabriel, Roelof Storm and Tamryn Reineke. Alexandra Billings, Connor Barry and Doyle Kennedy are executive producers.
