The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees is a 2008 American drama film adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. Starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Paul Bettany, the film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Will Smith, with Jada Pinkett Smith as the executive producer. The Secret Life of Bees is noted for Queen Latifah's critically acclaimed performance as August Boatwright. The film was released in the United States on October 17, 2008, and in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2008. Plot In 1964 South Carolina, Lily Owens lives on a peach orchard with her abusive, widowed father T. Ray. 10 years earlier, the four-year-old Lily accidentally shot her mother as she was attempting to leave him. In the present day, Lily's 14th birthday is approaching, and she celebrates the signing of the Civil Rights Act with her father’s Black hired help, Rosaleen. On the night before her birthday, Lily sneaks away into a nearby cornfield where she has secretly buried a few mementos of her mother, including a jar labeled “Black Madonna Honey, Tiburon, SC.” She places the picture of her mother on her stomach to feel closer to her as she lays back in the cornfield.