The rap mogul Jay Z is partnering with the Weinstein Company to produce a feature film and documentary series about the killing of Trayvon Martin, the teen whose death in 2012 set off nationwide protests.
They will make the film and six-part docu-series after winning a bidding war for the rights to two books about the killing of the unarmed black teenager by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, the trade magazine Variety reported on Thursday.
The case ignited civil unrest across the country and a debate about racial profiling. It also gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Zimmerman, who claimed he shot Martin in self-defense, was acquitted of a charge of second degree murder in 2013 by a jury in Florida.
The film and series projects will be based on the books “Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It” and “Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin,” Variety said.
“Suspicion Nation” recounts the experience of a reporter who covered the trial for NBC. “Rest in Power” is by Martin’s parents.
Another docu-series produced by Jay Z and Weinstein Television that touches on race relations – “Time: The Kalief Browder Story” – was aired last month.
The six-part series follows the story of a teen arrested in 2010 while walking home for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years in prison – two of them in solitary confinement – without a conviction.
After the charges were dropped, he was released from New York’s Rikers Island prison and took his own life.
