Naturi Naughton and Queen Sugar actress Tanyell Quian have been tapped as the leads in Lifetime’s upcoming Black Girl Missing franchise movie, Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie.
Executive produced by Garcelle Beauvais, Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie stars Naughton as Ellen, a college counselor who is concerned about the disappearance of one of her students, Shannon (Quian). Her concern is met with disturbing dismissiveness. Ellen takes it upon herself to find Shannon, and stumbles upon the horrors of a human trafficking ring targeting students.
According to the synopsis:
Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie follows the story of Shannon (Tanyell Quian), an ambitious college student who is struggling to pay her college tuition and eventually stops attending classes. The only person who notices Shannon’s sudden disappearance is her college counselor Ellen (Naturi Naughton). Ellen’s concerns are dismissed by Shannon’s professors, campus administration, students and even her own boyfriend. Instead of answers, Ellen is met with careless comments about how “girls like that” from underserved communities often drop out of school. Determined to find Shannon, Ellen inadvertently uncovers a trafficking ring targeting students in need like Shannon. With time running out, Ellen must fight tirelessly to gain the support she needs to rescue Shannon and bring down the trafficking ring.
Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie comes to LIfetime July 20 as part of Lifetime’s ongoing comittment to highlight the epidemic of missing Black women and girls, especially those from disadvantaged communities.
The film is the second in the Black Girl Missing film series, with the first wowing audiences last year. Like with the first film, Beauvais executive produces Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie with Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg, Gordon Gilbertson, Jason Egenberg, Richard Foster and Chet Fenster. Delmar Washington, the director of the first film, also directs this film, with Avery O’Williams as screenwriter. Johnson Production Group produces in association with Motion Content Group.