Canadian indie producer Angel Entertainment has hired Julie Dash to direct Tupelo 77 in summer 2012.

Saskatoon-based Angel Entertainment, which is led by Bob Crowe and Wally Start, hired the American filmmaker to helm a feature about a group of women that frequent a roadside diner in rural Mississippi in 1977, during a record hot summer and around the time Elvis Presley died.

Written by Rich Mancuso, Tupelo 77 captures women of various ages and races struggling to transcend the obstacles of poverty, racial and religious differences, and the persistent wounds of war.

“It is not every day that I come across a story that so beautifully depicts the kinds of relationships that transcend race and age and that simply tell a tale about a corner of the world, “ Dash, who directed the 2002 film The Rosa Parks Story, which starred Angela Bassett, said in a statement.

“The script really spoke to me and I felt that I already knew the women on the page. I am very excited to work on this meaningful story about relationships,” she added.

Tupelo 77 is produced by Crowe and Sean Hewitt (Carry Me Home).

No word on casting for the film, which is now underway.

Other film credits at Angel Entertainment include Stained, a psychological thriller from writer/director Karen Lam, and starring Tinsel Korry.