Gina Prince-Bythewood and Thuso Mbedu preview fantasy epic at MVAAFF

The 24th annual Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival began with a special clips-and-conversation event moderated by Sunny Hostin. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and lead actress Thuso Mbedu revealed exclusive footage from Children of Blood and Bone, the upcoming adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 novel. The discussion covered the film’s star-studded cast—including Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Regina King—and the cultural research that informed its visual language, such as melanin-based lighting and scarification motifs.

Music is central, with Tems serving as executive-producer of the soundtrack and Burna Boy as music consultant, marking a first for a woman in that role on a studio picture. Production design by Academy Award winner Hannah Beachler and costumes by Charlese Antoinette Jones were highlighted, as was the South African location shooting that produced natural sets like a pink lake. Mbedu described a year-long stunt regimen to embody Zélie Adebola, while Prince-Bythewood emphasized the film’s emotional range and its rarity in mainstream cinema. The movie is slated for theatrical release on January 15, 2027.