Watch Gabby Sidibe’s Directorial Debut, “A Tale Of Four”

Eight years after starring alongside Mo’Nique in Lee Daniels’ Precious, Gabourey Sidibe has reached a new peak in her career. The Empire actress has made her directorial debut with A Tale of Four, a short film produced by Refinery29’sSHATTERBOX Anthology. The film, inspired by Nina Simone’s song “Four Women”, re-envisions the four archetypes of black womanhood from slavery to 1966, the year the song was released.

Following the lives of Saffronia (Megan Kimberly Smith), Sarah (Ledisi Young), Peaches (Aisha Hinds), and Sweet Thing (Dana Gourrier),Sidibe’s A Tale of Four shows the daunting present-day realities of black women fighting against police brutality and mass incarceration.

Sidibe tells Refinery29 that she first heard the song when she was in her twenties, and immediately envisioned what it would look like as a film. See the new director’s vision above.