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Inspired by A'Ziah "Zola" King's 148-tweet
thread and a subsequent story in Rolling Stone magazine about
her experience, the drama follows Detroit waitress and exotic
dancer Zola whose customer Stefani convinces her to travel to
Florida for a weekend.
But the trip soon turns sinister when Zola realizes they are
traveling with a pimp who has other intentions.
"What I do is sex work and that's what I'm used to and that's
what I'm confident in doing," King said in an interview. "But
the difference in here is I was put into a situation that the
conversation turned into sex trafficking."
King's account of the trip, whose details she later said she
embellished, lit up social media, trending under the hashtag #TheStory.
Some of those she named in the tweets have disagreed with her
depiction of what happened.
"I don't really feel anything on that specific experience
anymore," King, a producer on the film, said about watching her
story unfold on the big screen.
"I'm a completely different person in a completely different
space. At this point in time when I watch the movie, I can enjoy
the artistic side of it. ... This is many different
conversations. This is a sex work conversation, this is a race
conversation. This is a feminism conversation."
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" actress Taylour Paige plays Zola
while Riley Keough, known for "Earthquake Bird" and "Mad Max:
Fury Road," portrays Stefani.
"I was a little bit stressed at first because I didn't get to
hang out with Zola," Paige said of her role preparation.
"But (director) Janicza (Bravo) was like, 'Remember, this is an
interpretation of an interpretation of a perception and it's
hyperboles. So ... this is like the exaggerated version.'"
"Zola" will be released June 30.
(Reporting by Alicia Powell; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian;
Editing by Richard Chang)
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