Zola (film)

Zola
Zola film poster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJanicza Bravo
Screenplay by
Based on
  • "Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted"
    by David Kushner
  • Tweets
    by A'Ziah "Zola" King
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAri Wegner
Edited byJoi McMillon
Music byMica Levi
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24) (Sundance)
  • June 30, 2021 (2021-06-30) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[2]
Box office$5.2 million[3][4][5]

Zola is a 2020 American black comedy crime film directed by Janicza Bravo and co-written by Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris. It is based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by A'Ziah "Zola" King and the resulting Rolling Stone article "Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted" by David Kushner. Starring Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, and Colman Domingo, the film follows a part-time stripper who is convinced by her new friend to go on a road trip to Tampa, Florida to earn money dancing, only to get in over her head.

Zola premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was theatrically released in the United States on June 30, 2021, following a year's delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] It received highly positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards the screenplay, performances (particularly those of Paige, Keough, and Domingo), and editing, and earned a leading seven nominations at the 37th Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay with two wins for Best Female Lead for Paige and Best Editing for Joi McMillon.

  1. ^ "Zola". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference preview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Zola (2021)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Zola (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Feinberg, Scott (February 1, 2022). "Oscars: Six Contenders on the Challenges and Rewards of Making 2021 Indies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Rodriguez, Karla (July 8, 2021). "A24's 'Zola's' Movie: The Real Story Behind The Viral Twitter Thread's Journey to the Big Screen". Complex. Retrieved August 3, 2023.[permanent dead link]