Gabourey Sidibe (Empire) has partnered with the fashion, lifestyle, and media company Refinery 29 to make her narrative directing debut through her short film titled A Tale of Four Women. As part of Refinery 29’s women centered digital content slate, Sidibe will be among twelve female filmmakers including America Ferrera (The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) and Kristen Stewart (Twilight), who will explore the dynamics of power through Refinery 29’s ShatterBox Anthology, which will begin running on the Refinery29 website this summer.
“Everything I do, my image and who I am and what I feel represents me is in the hands of a man, usually a white man. I realized very recently that I want to be the one that decides what image I show the public.” – Gabourey Sidibe
The ShatterBox Anthology is a digital short film series that “provides emerging female filmmakers the support and continued opportunity to realize their visions and reach new audiences.” The series will be comprised of twelve short form original scripted films created by female directors, writers, etc. This initiative will release four documentaries, four comedies, two animated films, and all will be based on the lives and experiences of women and young girls.
“We are proud to be collaborating with award-winning talent to create a slate of female-focused content that showcases what it is to be powerful in a nontraditional way.” – Amy Emmerich, Refinery29 Chief Content Officer
Sidibe currently stars in the Fox musical series Empire, and also stars in the Hulu series Difficult People. In addition to acting and directing, Sidibe announced that she is currently writing her memoir which will be published in 2017.