‘Pecan Man’ Movie in the Works, So Yong Kim to Direct (EXCLUSIVE)

Dave McNary
Updated

So Yong Kim has come on board to direct the independent drama “The Pecan Man,” based on the novel by Cassie Dandridge Selleck, Variety has learned exclusively.

Claude Dal Farra, Brice Dal Farra, and Brian Keady of BCDF Pictures are the producers. Joseph Muszynski adapted the book and is an executive producer.

Described as “To Kill a Mockingbird” meets “The Help,” “The Pecan Man” tells the story of a small 1970s southern town after a homeless black man is hastily charged with the fatal stabbing of the police chief’s son. A white widow and her black housekeeper struggle with what they know of the crime as the tragedy creeps into their lives.

Kim’s debut feature, “In Between Days,” won the special jury prize at Sundance. Her two films, “For Ellen” (Paul Dano, Dakota Johnson) and “Lovesong” (Riley Keough, Jena Malone) also premiered in competition at Sundance. She has been nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards, two Gotham Awards, and is the recipient of the Berlin International Festival’s Fipresci prize.

Kim has also directed recent episodes of “Queen Sugar,” “Transparent,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Vida,” and “Get Shorty.”

BCDF developed the adaptation. The company’s credits include the female comedy “Bachelorette” and the comedy-drama “Liberal Arts.” Recently BCDF has been developing book properties for film and television, including “Can You Keep a Secret,” the “Hush, Hush” series and “The Language of Flowers.”

“I’m honored to collaborate with the talented team of BCDF Pictures and Joseph Muszynski on this incredible project,” said Kim. “I believe that ‘The Pecan Man’ is an essential story that should be told cinematically. What drew me to the material was its deeply felt humanity and the strong female characters who are richly drawn. I’m excited to bring their story to the screen.”

Kim is repped by ICM Partners. Selleck is repped by Folio Literary Management. BCDF is repped by Sheri Jeffrey at Hogan Lovells.

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