Serena and Venus Williams Board Diahann Carroll Documentary as Govt Producers (Unique)

The Williams sisters are getting again into the manufacturing sport.

Serena and Venus Williams, together with their sister Isha Worth, have joined documentary Between Starshine and Clay: The Hidden Diary of Diahann Carroll as government producers alongside Katy Barksdale and Valerie Gamache. The challenge, at present in manufacturing, is being co-directed by Susanne Rostock and Carroll’s daughter, Suzanne Kay, who’re producing alongside Coloration Farm Media’s Erika Alexander and Ben Arnon.

“After my mom’s passing in October 2019, I found her hidden diary,” Kay mentioned in a press release. “Our relationship was difficult. I feel she meant for me to seek out it. So, as her solely baby, that is additionally a private journey to achieve a deeper understanding about who my mom was.”

In her profession, Carroll broke via a number of coloration limitations for Black ladies, turning into the primary to star in her personal tv collection (Julia) and the primary to win a Tony Award for finest actress in a musical (No Strings). The documentary will function notable ladies studying passages from Carroll’s diary alongside never-before-seen residence movies, household pictures and personal correspondence between Carroll and longtime paramour Sidney Poitier.

“Diahann Carroll has paved the best way for therefore many, together with myself, and I hope that this private look into her life will proceed to encourage audiences and future generations,” Serena Williams, who will produce via her not too long ago launched 9 Two Six Productions, mentioned in a press release. Added Venus Williams in a press release, “What resonated with me was the challenge’s dedication to illuminating Diahann Carroll’s trailblazing legacy via distinctive storytelling, highlighting the parallels between the current day and the previous. Diahann was a cultural icon, and her willpower to stay genuine and push again in opposition to established norms has empowered generations for over seven many years.”

Coloration Farm, based by Arnon and Residing Single star Alexander, has beforehand produced the documentaries John Lewis: Good Bother and The Large Payback and the nonfiction podcast Discovering Tamika.

“Ben and I are thrilled to be partnered with Suzanne Kay and Susanne Rostock on this unimaginable challenge to inform Diahann’s story,” Alexander mentioned in a press release. “Susanne Rostock’s distinctive imaginative and prescient as a director and editor is incomparable and Suzanne is her mom’s daughter — sensible, proficient and beneficiant. So as to add Venus and Serena to this workforce is an honor, and so they know what the problem is in being historic firsts. It’s an ideal match.”