While the Netflix-purchased drama Beasts of No Nation continues to gain Oscar buzz, rival streaming platform turned production house Amazon Studios prepares to release its much-anticipated first major original film, from director Spike Lee.
Chi-raq is a satire set in the streets of Chicago, where crime is at an all-time high. The title itself is a reference to the death toll in the city surpassing that of the American special forces in Iraq.
Loosely based on Greek comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes, the film imagines an uprising from the female population who go on a “sex strike” in an attempt to stop the men from continuing to kill each other.
It stars Mad Men and Dear White People’s Teyonah Paris in the lead role with Samuel L Jackson, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, Nick Cannon, Angela Bassett and Wesley Snipes in support.
The film has already angered Chicago officials, who resent the implications of the title and attempted to take away any tax credits that the production might receive. “This is real life and death and that’s the way we’re going to approach this,” Lee assured residents, also upset by what they perceive to be a comedic take on a serious subject.
While the film will be showing on Amazon Prime, it will get a small US theatrical release on 4 December in the hope that it might be considered for awards.
