‘Science has proved that the brains of white men are superior to the brains of black men.’
‘The Bible has revealed that God made white men to rule over black men.’
Convinced of these ‘truths’, the rulers of South Africa embarked on a radical experiment; an experiment enforced by the most powerful army on the continent
and supported by the governments of the United States and United Kingdom.
It was called ‘Apartheid’.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
, based on South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography of the same name, chronicles the freedom fighter’s early life, coming of age, education
and the 27 years he spent in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. Idris Elba (Promethus) stars as
Nelson Mandela, Naomie Harris (Skyfall) stars as Winnie Mandela, with Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) directing.
Meet the stars and producer of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Idris Elba (NELSON MANDELA)
Golden Globe winning actor Idris Elba showcases his creative versatility both on-screen in television and film as well as behind the camera as a producer
and director. He continues to captivate audiences and secure his position as the one to watch in Hollywood, with a string of well-received performances in
high-profile films as well as and multiple critically acclaimed television series.
Elba was most recently seen in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, alongside Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi. This fall, Idris
reprised his role as Heimdall in Thor: The Dark World. In Winter 2014, he will both star in and executive produce No Good Deed, a thriller also
starring Taraji P. Henson. Elba is currently in production for Pierre Morel’s The Gunman, alongside Sean Penn and Javier Bardem. Next up, Elba will begin
production on Beasts of No Nation with director Cary Fukunaga.
Elba began his film career in roles in such projects as HBO’s Sometimes in April (NAACP Image Award nomination),Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls (BET Award nomination), The Reaping alongside Hilary Swank, and the horror thriller 28 Weeks Later.
In 2007, Elba starred in Ridley Scott’s Golden Globe nominated American Gangster with Denzel Washington, Russel Crowe, Ruby Dee and Josh Brolin.
The cast went on to receive a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Following, he starred in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla with Tom Hardy, opposite
Beyonce Knowles in Obsessed (NAACP Image Award Nomination), The Losers (NAACP Image Award nomination), Legacy (which he also
executive produced), Thor, Ghost Rider with Nicolas Cage, and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus with Michael Fassbender and Charlize
Theron.
Prior to his big screen debut, Elba’s career skyrocketed on the small screen in some of UK’s top rated shows including “Dangerfield,” “Bramwell” and
“Ultraviolet”. In 2000, “Ultraviolet” was purchased by Fox in the United States, offering Idris a break into the American marketplace. He soon moved to New
York and earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Achilles in Sir Peter Hall’s off-Broadway production of “Troilus and Cressida”. Shortly thereafter he
landed a part on the acclaimed television series “Law & Order”.
Soon after his move to the states, Elba landed the role of Stringer Bell, the lieutenant of a Baltimore drug empire on HBO’s critically acclaimed series
“The Wire”. Elba’s portrayal of the complex but deadly Bell is arguably one of the most compelling performances in TV history. In 2005, his performance
earned him an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Elba returned to television in 2009 when he joined the cast of NBC’s hit television show “The Office” as Michael Scott’s less than amused boss Charles
Minor. In 2010, Idris landed the title role of John Luther in the BBC crime drama mini-series “Luther”. Following the first season, Elba was nominated for
an Emmy for his performance in “Luther” as well as for his guest appearance on Showtime’s “The Big C.” His performance in the first season of “Luther”
earned him an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, and a Golden Globe. In 2012, Elba earned an Emmy nomination for the second season of Luther. The third
installment of the BBC mini-series aired in September 2013. Additionally, Elba has recently finished filming a two-part documentary titled King of Speed
for BBC Two.
In 2013, Elba made his directorial debut with SKYTV’s “Pavement Psychologist” and the music video for Mumford & Sons “Lover of the Light.”
Naomie Harris (WINNIE MANDELA)
As a critically acclaimed actress in film, television, and theatre, Naomie Harris is making a name for herself with each of her luminous performances.
Harris most recently starred in the latest James Bond installment, Skyfall, opposite Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and
Albert Finney. The Sam Mendes-directed film went on to gross over $1 billion worldwide, becoming both the top grossing movie in UK box office history and
the highest grossing film in Sony’s history.
In 2011, Harris starred at The National Theater in London in Danny Boyle’s production of “Frankenstein” opposite Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Harris also starred in The First Grader, which won Audience Awards at the Telluride, and Doha Film Festival and was runner up at the Toronto Film
Festival. Harris played ‘Jane,’ a first grade teacher in Kenya who fights for the right of an 84-year-old man to be educated—even if it means learning in a
classroom with 6-year-olds.
The London-born actress had her first major breakthrough performance in 2002 with Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and went on to receive further
international recognition and critical acclaim for her role as ‘Tia Dalma’ in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End. Other major feature film credits include Michael Mann’s Miami Vice; Michael Winterbottom’s Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story; Street Kings with Keanu Reeves and Forrest Whittaker; and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
with Andy Serkis.
Harris has won various awards, beginning in 2003 with Best Actress at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. In 2007, she won the Rising Star Tribute Award
at the Bahamas International Film Festival as well as Best Actress at the Screen Nation Awards (which she won again in 2009). That same year, she was
nominated for a BAFTA Orange Rising Star. More recently, she was awarded Best Actress at The Royal Television Society Awards in 2010.
Harris graduated with honors from Cambridge University with a degree in social and political science then trained at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic
Theatre School.
Anant Singh (PRODUCER)
Born and raised in apartheid South Africa in the eastern coastal city of Durban, Anant Singh began his film career at age 18 when he left his studies at
the University of Durban-Westville to purchase a 16mm movie rental store. From there, he moved into video distribution, forming Videovision Entertainment
and then progressed into film production in 1984 with Place of Weeping, the first anti-apartheid film to be made entirely in South Africa.
Singh is recognized as South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer, having produced more than 80 films since 1984. He is responsible for many of the most
profound anti-apartheid films made in South Africa including Place Of Weeping, Sarafina! and Cry, the Beloved Country.
Nelson Mandela called him “a producer I respect very much…a man of tremendous ability” when he granted him the film rights to his autobiography, “Long Walk
To Freedom.”
Singh is the producer of Yesterday (from director, Darrell James Roodt), which received South Africa’s first Academy Award Nomination in the Best Foreign
Language Picture category in 2005, the Peabody Award and an Emmy Nomination in 2006 in the “Outstanding Made For Television Movie” category.
Singh has also produced notable documentaries, including Countdown to Freedom, about the first democratic election in South Africa, Prisoners of Hope, about a reunion on Robben Island of 1,250 of its former political prisoners led by Nelson Mandela, Hero For All which
documents Nelson Mandela’s farewell visit to the United States as he stepped down from the South African Presidency. Viva Madiba: A Hero For All Seasons was produced as a 90th Birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela in July 2008 and Obama: People’s President,
a documentary feature that explores the unique and innovative US presidential campaign mounted by Barack Obama as well as The Journalist And The Jihadi: The Murder Of Daniel Pearl, which tracks the parallel lives of the late Wall Street Journal writer and his
Jihadi murderer, Omar Sheikh.
Singh co-owns Cape Town Film Studios, a state-of-the-art film studio facility in Cape Town, which also hosted the shoot of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and where authentic sets were created on the back lot. He also co-chairs the Cape Town Metropolitan radio station,
Smile 90.4FM.
He is a former board member of the International Marketing Council Of South Africa (now Brand South Africa) and South African Tourism, having served two
terms on both these bodies, the Los Angeles-based Artists For A New South Africa and the Nelson Mandela 46664 AIDS Awareness Initiative.
Singh is a recipient of the Crystal Award of the World Economic Forum and the Lifetime Founder Member Award of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. Both the
University of Durban-Westville and the University Of Port Elizabeth have conferred honorary doctorates on him.
Singh was also nominated for the 2006 Black Businessman Of The Year Award by the influential business magazine, Black Business Quarterly.
The 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival conferred the World Visionary Award to Singh for his contribution to world cinema and his production of
socially conscious films.
The South African Film Industry honored Anant Singh for his significant contribution to the advancement of the industry with the inaugural Golden Horn
Award for Outstanding Contributor at the first South African Film and Television Awards in October 2006. Singh was also awarded the inaugural Simon Mabhunu
Sabela Film Lifetime Achievement Award from the KwaZulu Natal Film Commission in honour of his contribution to raising the profile of the film industry in
the KwaZulu Natal province and South Africa.
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