Outlander's Maria Doyle Kennedy Joins Cast of Granny Lee Film

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Principal photography is scheduled to begin at the end of May through to the end of June in Cape Town.

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Outlander's Maria Doyle Kennedy is set to star in an upcoming film inspired by real-life transgender icon, Granny Lee. Currently untitled, the movie will also feature South African gender activist Simone Heradien in the lead role and Québec performer Paul Ahmarani.

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The movie follows a stubborn trans disco queen, who, after the death of a LOST BOY she raised, has her claim to motherhood challenged by his estranged mother and her quest for forgiveness. The film is set in Johannesburg in the 1980s during the Apartheid era.

"The world feels very precariously balanced right now, it is the time to acknowledge the wrongs of the past in order not to carry them into the future," says Maria Doyle Kennedy.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin at the end of May through to the end of June in Cape Town. The film is set to be directed by father-son team Ian Gabriel and Gabe Gabriel, who previously worked together on the GLAAD Media Award-nominated film Runs in the Family, which was released on Netflix worldwide in 2023. The screenplay was penned by Gabe Gabriel.

Producers include Shant Joshi of Fae Pictures (In Flames), Yanick Letourneau of Périphéria (Night of the Kings), Cindy Gabriel of Giant Films (Four Corners), Roelof Storm of Wolflight Films (Kanarie), and Tamryn Reinecke of Pale Rebel Productions (It Is In Us All). Alexandra Billings, Conor Barry, and Maria Doyle Kennedy are amongst the executive producers.

Maria Doyle Kennedy is an award-winning Irish actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Queen Katherine of Aragon in The Tudors for which she won a Canadian Gemini and 2 Irish Film and TV awards, Vera Bates in Downton Abbey, and Jocasta Cameron in Outlander. Maria played Mrs. S in Orphan Black, for which she won a Canadian Screen Award, and Birdy in Kin, for which she won 2 Irish Film and TV Awards. She recently completed the second season of the South African dark comedy series Recipes for Love and Murder. Her work in film includes The Commitments, Sing Street, Albert Nobbs, The Conjuring 2, and Wolfwalkers.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/OUTLANDER-Star-Maria-Doyle-Kennedy-Joins-Cast-of-Untitled-Granny-Lee-Film-20260519)._