Tyler Perry Is Working On A Zombie Movie And A WWII Movie: 'Now Is The Time To Start Believing' [MVAAFF Exclusive]

A zombie film and a World War II-set film are upcoming projects that Tyler Perry says he has in the works.

A prolific director, Perry is no stranger to premiering multiple projects in a year. However, A Jazzman’s Blues, premiering on Netflix next month, allowed him to savor his role as filmmaker and producer.

"It's the happiest I've ever been making a film because it was a joy, a peacetime," he explained to Shadow and Act during a conversation before a panel on the film at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival.

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Tyler Perry Says He Wrote Netflix Film 'A Jazzman's Blues' In 1995 And Initially Wanted To Star In It Himself [MVAAFF Exclusive]

For Tyler Perry, now is the time for dreaming. Nearly 30 years in the making, the multi-hyphenate talent presented clips from his forthcoming sweeping epic, A Jazzman’s Blues, at the 20th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival on Aug. 6.

Told over 50 years from 1937 to 1987, the romantic drama follows the forbidden romance between lovers Bayou (Joshua Boone) and Leanne (Solea Pfeiffer). 

Filmed with cinematography by Brett Pawlak, the film unravels five decades of secrets and lies entwined with a juke joint blues soundtrack. The film also stars Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young, and Ryan Eggold. Songs for the film were arranged and produced by multi-Grammy winner and two-time Academy Award nominee Terence Blanchard with music by Aaron Zigman. The choreography was done by the legendary Debbie Allen.

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In Netflix's 'Descendant,' The Past Bubbles Up To The Surface [MVAAFF Review]

There were many horrors born out of the enslavement of Black bodies. Terror, sexual abuse, mental anguish, despair, and the separation of families are only the tip of the iceberg. Erasure— of history and personhood — are still things that echo through the Black community. However, as filmmaker Margaret Brown’s striking documentary Descendant suggests, our histories and the truth can never stay buried for long. 

Descendant begins the search for a slave ship that should have never existed. Just one year before the American Civil War began and 52 years after the International slave trade was outlawed in the United States, a ship named Clotilda arrived on the shores of Alabama. A white plantation owner named Timothy Meaher charted the illegal expedition in a bet that he could evade the law. Clotilda carried 110 African men, women, and children to the Alabama shores before Meaher set the vessel ablaze —determined to erase what he’d done. 

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Barack And Michelle Obama Surprise Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival To Introduce Higher Ground's Netflix Doc 'Descendant'

The 20th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), founded by Stephanie and Floyd Rance, opened Friday evening with a robust crowd at a screening of Descendant, a searing documentary helmed by filmmaker Margaret Brown. The film follows the residents of Africatown, Alabama, the descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to hit American shores long after the transatlantic slave trade had been outlawed. The Netflix film is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, and the former POTUS and First Lady surprised the crowd when they stepped out to introduce the film.

“When we screened this, we immediately thought, this is why we’re doing Higher Ground,” Mrs. Obama said. “As Black people, we don’t talk about things, and there is a lot of psychology around that. But, what this film reminds us of is the power that our stories have, and we have to tell that truth.” 

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