MUMBAI: Lionsgate has acquired worldwide distribution rights for a planned screen version of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf.

The studio acquired rights to both the 1975 stage play by Ntozake Shange, and the adapted screenplay written by Nzingha Stewart, who will direct the film.

The film joins an upcoming release slate that includes the Sundance Film Festival triple award winner Precious; the documentary More Than A Game; and the next two films in the Tyler Perry franchise, Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself And Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?

Lionsgate president of motion picture production Mike Paseornek said, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf was a milestone in modern American theatre, and it speaks as powerfully today as it did when it was first performed in New York in 1975. Nzingha Stewart has written a masterful adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s original play, and Lionsgate is very excited about introducing this remarkable work to a new generation via the big screen.”

Stewart said, “I am delighted by Lionsgate’s enthusiastic support for my film of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. It is wonderful to know that I am embarking on this journey with this dynamic, innovative studio behind me.”