By Samantha Ofole-Prince
One is an award-winning Jamaican director known for projects “Better Mus’ Come,” and “Sprinter.” The other is an award-winning Afro-British actress who has starred in high profile movies such as “Belle,” “Beyond the Lights,” and “Concussion” opposite Will Smith.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Storm Saulter are slated to work together in a five-part series titled “Inheritance,” according to Deadline.
Directed by Saulter, Jonny Lee Miller (“Covenant”), Sheldon Shepherd (“Better Must Come”), and Bel Powley (“A Small Light”) will also star in the series which follows Claudia (Mbatha-Raw), an ambitious young bi-racial lawyer, who embarks on a journey to Jamaica to challenge an inheritance claim filed by an unknown local resident, Cudjoe East (Shepherd), against Oliver Connaught (Lee-Miller), a wealthy white aristocrat. The quest takes an unexpected turn when the contested estate reveals the ominous house that has haunted her nightmares: the Connaught family’s Jamaican plantation, Hope Hill. As Claudia and Oliver investigate, they uncover a chilling connection between historical horrors and present-day injustices.
Karla Crome wrote the novella, which explores themes of racial conflict, judicial drama, and the complications of historical reckoning.
The synopsis reads: “Inheritance” is an ambitious genre-bending series that boldly confronts the enduring legacy of colonialism, marrying shadowy intrigue with the pulsating energy of the Caribbean.
Saulter, who won the Best Director award at the Pan-African Film Festival (PAFF) for the political Jamaican drama “Better Mus’ Come” and PAFF’s Best Narrative Feature for “Sprinter,” a Jamaican drama about a high-school kid with aspirations to become a first-class world athlete, has a strong fascination for historical films.
“The Caribbean is the most exciting place in the world to be making films right now. There are so many untold stories, which is an ideal environment for storytellers,” shares Saulter.
“Inheritance” begins filming in the UK and Jamaica this month.
