Music video helmer Nzingha Stewart lands a high-profile film assignment.

A groundbreaking piece of theater when it debuted in the mid-’70s, Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf remains a source of inspiration for many artists, including writer/director Nzingha Stewart.  In a just-posted interview with the website 21st Century Hustle, the director of music videos for such artists as Joss Stone and Bilal (as well as the short film The Marriage Counselor, which premiered at New York’s Urbanworld Film Festival in 2005) reveals that the play has been a part of her life since she first read it at age 15.  On her most recent reading–which occurred during a cross-country flight from LA to New York–Stewart says that she started sketching images inspired by the text directly onto the page.  From there, she acquired the rights to the play and took the project to Lionsgate, which agreed to finance a film version.  It’s yet another sign that the studio is looking to expand its roster of black filmmakers beyond Tyler Perry.  Later this year, Lionsgate will be releasing Lee Daniels’ Precious (formerly Push: Based on the Novel By Sapphire), which was a big hit at Sundance in January and could very well be a major Oscar contender.  As of now, there’s no official start date for Stewart’s film, but there’s a good chance it will hit theaters in 2010.

Click here to read the full interview with Nzingha Stewart