This story began five years ago with a regular text message that Wanda Dench sent to her grandson. Or at least I thought so, because – as it turned out – the numbers got mixed up. This was how the SMS with the invitation to Thanksgiving dinner reached the stranger. Came for dinner and since then visits Mrs. Wanda every year to celebrate together. An unusual friendship story became an internet hit, and now Netflix is going to make a movie about it.
“Thanksgiving dinner at my place. November 24th 3pm Please let me know if you are coming. I hope to see you all. Amanda and Justin also,” Wanda Dench wrote in an SMS shortly before Thanksgiving in 2016. “Who are you?” I read in response. After a few messages, people on both sides of the phone exchanged photos. Wanda saw a photo of Jamal Hinton, a student at High School.” “You are not my grandmother. Can I come anyway? Jamal asked, “Yes, of course. “That’s what grandmothers do – they’ll feed everyone,” replied Wanda. It was the beginning of a great friendship, and soon the screen of a white grandmother’s dialogue with her African American “granddaughter” went viral.
In the following years, Wanda and Jamal regularly reported to netizens about their friendship. It has become the norm to share photos posted online every year of Thanksgiving and subsequent joint dinners. Both became popular on social media. Jamal has been followed on Twitter by more than 130,000 people, and Wanda by 26,000. Over time, Jamal’s girlfriend and family began appearing at the dinner party. After the outbreak of the epidemic, their meeting was especially important for everyone. In April 2020, Wanda’s husband, who also attended the dinner, passed away from complications related to COVID-19.
Wanda and Jamal are excited that Netflix will be making a movie about their story. “We look forward to sharing our story with the world. We hope to inspire others to meet people they would never meet, under normal circumstances. Our true friendship is a blessing from God who connected us via a false SMS,” they wrote in a joint statement marking the film.
The production, as reported by Variety, will be called “The Thanksgiving Text”. The script of the film was written by Abdul Williams (story by Bobby Brown). The name of the director and crew is still unknown. (life PAP)
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