It has been announced that Gugu Mbatha-Raw will star in an upcoming period drama that will launch producer Billy Peterson’s Racing Green Pictures.

The film, Seacole, is about Mary Seacole, “a pioneering Jamaican nurse who cared for wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War and found herself at odds with Florence Nightingale,” per Variety, who broke the news of this story first.

According to the report, Racing Green Pictures wants to “back prestige films, many of which will have strong social messages.” In Seacole, Mbatha-Raw will be joined by Sam Worthington, Sylvia Hoeks and Sean Delaney, Charlie Stratton will direct. He wrote the screenplay with Dianne Houston and Marnie Dickens.

“Mary Seacole was an extraordinary woman, and I’m proud to bring her story to today’s audiences with the hope that they will be inspired by her kindness and tenacity. Seacole perfectly encapsulates the mission of Racing Green Pictures, which is to use first-class filmmaking to tell important stories, and I look forward to both this film and to other exciting projects in the near future,” said Peterson.The film is expected to premiere on the festival circuit in 2020.

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