Tyler Perry To Produce The Year of the Great Storm, Story Of Amy BiehlPosted by Wilson Morales
March 10, 2016
Through his production company, 34th Street Films, Tyler Perry, with Ozzie Areu, and Matt Moore along with Russ Stratton and Johanna Baldwin of Air Extreme Films will produce The Year of the Great Storm.
The Year of the Great Storm will tell the true story and legacy of Amy Biehl, an American Fulbright scholar who was living in South Africa during the dangerous and violent days of the armed struggle against Apartheid. After Amy was attacked and stabbed to death by a mob of angry black youths in 1993, her American parents decided to attend the trial of her daughter’s killers. They remained in South Africa and began a grassroots effort to bring about change in the movement. Eventually the family supported their daughter’s killers’ application to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission for political amnesty and later two of those same men joined the efforts of the Amy Biehl Foundation. The film aims to paint a vivid picture of a country nearing civil war as it struggled with its national destiny in a desperate fight to end decades of systematic racism.
Doug Liman and George C. Wolfe will also serve as executive producers, with Karzan Kader onboard to direct The Year of the Great Storm.
“We’re thrilled to be tackling this difficult but inspiring subject matter with an incredible director, writer, and team of producers,” said Ozzie Areu, President of Tyler Perry Studios. “The story of the Biehl family’s journey is one of courage, compassion, and redemption, and we are humbled that they have allowed us unfettered access to bring their lives to the big screen.”
In addition to producing, Johanna Baldwin penned the script for The Year of the Great Storm. Baldwin has been following the Amy Biehl story since Amy’s death 20 years ago. After meeting Amy’s family in 1996, Baldwin has been working closely with them to track their story over time and has had exclusive access to the family as well as two of the men responsible for her murder.
