Octavia Spencer is attached to star and will reunite with The Help producer Brunson Green on the biopic, which The Exchange will introduce to buyers next week.

Charlie Stratton will direct Seacole from a screenplay by Dianne Houston and Marnie Dickens about Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse and contemporary of Florence Nightingale who tended to the sick during the 19th century Crimean War.

The film will focus on battlefield action as Seacole fights to take care of British soldiers during and after the war. Umedia finances the project and is on board as co-producer.

“It is time to bring Mary Seacole’s story to the big screen,” said The Exchange CEO Brian O’Shea. “Octavia Spencer will bring her wit and determination to this strong character.”

“It’s exciting to be working with Octavia again to bring this important and moving story to life,” said Green. “Mary Seacole was a dynamic, complex and charming woman, knowing Octavia and her immense talent, there is no one better to embody this impressive and courageous historical figure.”