I just knew I had to do it.

And the other thing is that I felt like all my work up until this point

has led me to be able to tell this story.

And certainly doing the old guard and the action and that

and learning, I felt like gave me that last bit that I needed. Hello, and welcome back to the director's cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America.

In this episode, the remarkable story of the Agoje, an all-female unit of warriors, who protected the African kingdom of Dahomey, is revealed in director Gina Prince Bithwaithwaite's historical drama, The Woman King.

Inspired by true events, the film follows General Niska, the Agoje's leader, as she prepares

the next generation of recruits for a battle against an enemy determined to destroy their

way of life.

In addition to the Woman King, Prince Bythwood's directorial credits include the feature films

Love and Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights,

and the Old Guard, and episodes of the series, Women of the Movement, Cloak and Dagger,

shots fired, girlfriends, and the Bernie Mac show.

Following a screening of the film at the DGA theater in Los Angeles, Prince Bythwood spoke with director Stan Lathen about filming The Woman King.

Listen on for their spoiler-filled conversation.

And I want to say I'm really excited about being here today because I love Gina and I love the movie so much.

And I've seen everything she's done.

I guess most of everything she's done. And I guess most everything she's done and I've always been really very impressed by her abilities and her dedication and commitment and after talking to her a lot about

this movie and seeing this movie twice now I'm'm just, I'm blown away by it.

So I'm, I'm happy to be here.

I also want to say, I love the DGA,

for those of you who are DGAers.

...