Sophia Al-Maria's TV series 'Little Birds' adapts Anaïs Nin for Sky Atlantic

Sophia Al-Maria serves as screenwriter for the Sky Atlantic series 'Little Birds,' which premiered in 2023. The show loosely adapts Anaïs Nin's 1979 posthumous collection of erotic vignettes. Set in Tangier during 1955, when the city was an international zone under French and Spanish protectorate, the narrative follows American debutante Lucy Savage, played by Juno Temple, alongside local characters like prostitute Cherifa, portrayed by Yumna Marwan. Themes explore colonialism, feminism, queer politics, and shifting power dynamics as Morocco moves toward independence in 1956. Al-Maria, a Qatari-American artist, previously created videoworks informed by non-linear storytelling, inspired during a 2018 Whitechapel Gallery residency where she engaged with Ursula K. Le Guin's essay on the bag as a key human object. Her 2019 Tate Britain commission 'Beast Type Song' featured readings from Michelle Cliff's 'Caliban's Daughter' and included Yumna Marwan reciting from Mohamed Choukri's 'In Tangier.' The series also stars Hugh Skinner as Hugo Cavendish Smythe and Raphael Acloque as Adham. Al-Maria has expressed frustrations with commercial television's constraints, noting how narratives can be reshaped for perceived audiences. 'Little Birds' is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.