Lydia Dean Pilcher (Radium Girls, A Call to Spy) has acquired the rights to Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, a memoir by Dawn Prince-Hughes that she plans to adapt into a feature, as both director and producer, Deadline reported. Pilcher adapted the screenplay for her third feature and will produce with Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning producer Audrey Rosenberg (Katrina Babies, I Am Not Your Negro).
"When I read Dawn's memoir, I entered my own mind through her exquisite visual language," said Pilcher. "As I began to understand that every brain is like a fingerprint, it sparked a consciousness of my own differences in ways of seeing and thinking, and how far we have to go to understand and respect this difference in each other."
Prince-Hughes added: "I love Lydia's vision and I'm proud to call her a friend after more than a year of exploration together in creating the screenplay. The biggest thrill is her commitment to the gorillas and the environment.... I pray that together we help both."
Pilcher is currently in the DGA Episodic TV Directors Program "and has also been heavily active over the years as part of initiatives through the PGA, launching Cultureshift, its Women's Impact Network and its green production guide PGA Green, and co-creating the MS. Factor's Toolkit, aimed at debunking the myths that perpetuate gender bias," Deadline wrote.