According to report by Deadline, Rosario Dawson has signed on to portray women rights activist Donna Hylton in a new biopic A Little Piece of Light, based on her memoir of the same name. Although Dawson is now attached, the film has yet to find a director and writer.
As alleged in her memoir, Donna Hylton was born in Jamaica, but at the age of 7 was told that she would be going to Disneyland, but instead was ‘sold’ to an American family. Her adoptive father was a pedophile and sexually abused her throughout her late childhood and teenage years.
The title partially comes from these experiences, when she would seek refuge in the closet, but when she saw ‘little pieces of light’ she knew her stepfather was in the room coming to get her. The title’s namesake also comes from Hylton’s experience in prison. At the age of 17 she was arrested for taking part in a kidnapping and murder of a real estate agent. Her experience in solitary confinement, where she saw ‘little pieces of lights’ through the cracks of her confinement room, gave a new meaning to the phrase.
Although once out of prison in 2012, Hylton redefined the phrase as trying to find ‘little pieces of light’ in others through her activist work. She works with mentor Eve Ensler, known as the playwright of Vagina Monologues and subsequent works. On Hylton’s website, Ensler is quoted as saying, “I have watched Donna become a model of transformation. A true leader; an example of someone who has not only turned their life around but who has made it her mission to make her own transformation a collective transformation.” Hylton is currently running the ‘From Life to Life’ program that assists incarcerated women and their families with their reentrance into society after prison.
Rosario Dawson, most known for her performance in Seven Pounds, can also be seen on the first seasons of television series Daredevil and Luke Cage. She can next be seen in the thriller Unforgettable, as well as lending her voice talents to the animated features The LEGO Batman Movie and Henchmen. She will also be featured in Marvel’s television series The Defenders on ABC. According to Donna Hylton’s website, Dawson has said of Hylton, “Donna has the remarkable ability to turn pain into power.”
Dan Pearson, who is representing the work through D4 Entertainment, has emphasized that both the screenwriter and the director need to be women. He said “We’re looking for the right female screenwriter and director for A Little Piece of Light. This is a project for women, by women, of women.”
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