LOS ANGELES — Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim will team with producing duo Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald for a film about Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was targeted by Taliban gunmen for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education.
Last October, Yousafzai made headlines when she was shot in the head and neck on a school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Upon her miraculous recovery, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work advocating a safe education for young people everywhere.
Guggenheim directed the Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth” and the public education doc “Waiting for Superman,” while Parkes and MacDonald are responsible for such blockbusters as “Gladiator” and “Men in Black.”
The film will be financed through the producers’ long-standing relationship with Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, and will focus on Yousafzai’s visit to the United Nations on July 12, when she spoke in front of the General Assembly, her first major appearance since the shooting. The speech marked the occasion of her 16th birthday and has been dubbed “Malala Day.”
Wearing a pink shawl that once belonged to Benazir Bhutto, Yousafzai addressed hundreds of youth delegates and dignitaries.
“Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy, and every girl who have raised their voices for their rights,” she told the assembly. “So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself but for those without voice… those who have fought for their rights, their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated.”
In a press release, Guggenheim said, “I have two daughters and they are inspired and captivated by Malala’s story and her fight for education for every child. I believe this movie will speak to every girl and every family in the world.”
As yet untitled, the filmmakers are aiming for a late 2014 theatrical release.