ZOLA
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.” Thus begins the odyssey of one A’Ziah King, a.k.a. Zola. Directing from a script she co-wrote with acclaimed playwright Jeremy O. Harris, filmmaker Janicza Bravo brought Zola’s stranger-than-fiction saga, which she first told in a now-iconic series of uproarious viral tweets, to dazzling cinematic life. Zola (Taylour Paige), a Detroit waitress, strikes up a friendship with a customer, Stefani (Riley Keough), who seduces her to join in on a weekend of dancing and partying in Florida. What at first seems like a glamorous trip full of “hoeism” rapidly transforms into a 48-hour journey involving a nameless pimp (Colman Domingo), an idiot boyfriend (Nicholas Braun), some Tampa gangsters and other unexpected adventures in this wild, see-it-to-believe-it tale. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim, ZOLA is a virtuosic rollercoaster experience led by Paige’s fiercely indelible and charismatic performance in her breakout role, which won her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. (Note adapted from A24.) DIR/SCR Janicza Bravo; SCR Jeremy O. Harris, from an article by David Kushner and tweets by A’Ziah “Zola” King; PROD Kara Baker, Dave Franco, Elizabeth Haggard, David Hinojosa, Vince Jolivette, Christine Vachon, Gia Walsh. U.S., 2020, color, 86 min. RATED R
Run Time: 86 Minutes
Opening Date: Sunday, September 07, 2025
Genre: Crime comedy
