The Coca Cola Company is hosting a free screening of the new movie “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” on November 18 at 5:30 p.m. at The Landmark Theater, 10850 West Pico Blvd. Beaman Incorporated is working with The Coca-Cola Company to kick off a nationwide tour of the new film. This special screening is for UCLA students , and will have refreshments, the opportunity to win prizes, and special appearances by the film’s stars, actor Idris Elba (Prometheus), who plays Mandela, Naomie Harris (Skyfall) who plays Winnie, and director Justin Chadwick.
To view the film’s trailer, please click HERE.
The Coca-Cola Company believes the film provides teachable moments to influence the next generation of leaders. It’s one of the reasons why they are supporting the Weinstein Company’s production of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and offering exclusive screenings for students on or near college campuses in cities such as DC, Atlanta and several others.
The story of Nelson Mandela has been sketched on the canvas of modern-day history….and it is important that his story be shared. Mandela’s perseverance over injustice and oppression is to be admired.
For those of you who are on social media, the film’s hash tag is #Mandela. As seating is limited, please RSVP as soon as possible via the Eventbrite link: http://mandela-screening-la.
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” is in theaters 11/29 for NYC and LA and in theaters 12/25 for all other markets
SYNOPSIS
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is based on South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography of the same name, which chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. Idris Elba (PROMETHEUS) stars as Nelson Mandela, Naomie Harris (SKYFALL) stars as Winnie Mandela, with Justin Chadwick (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) directing.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JUSTIN CHADWICK (DIRECTOR)
British filmmaker, Justin Chadwick started his career in the entertainment industry as a child actor. He graduated from the University of Leicester, and in 1991, he made his screen debut in London Kills Me. Additional acting credits include The Loss of Sexual Innocence and appearances in the television dramas Heartbeat, Dangerfield, Dalziel and Pascoe, and others.
Chadwick’s directorial debut was the 1993 television movie Family Style starring Ewan McGregor, which he directed and performed in Shakespeare Shorts, a series that explored the history of Shakespearean characters and presented them in key scenes from the plays in which they appeared. He directed episodes of Eastenders; Byker Grove; The Bill; Spooks, and Red Cap before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of the mini-series Bleak House, which was broadcasted by the BBC in the UK and by PBS in the United States as part of its Masterpiece Theatre series.
Chadwick was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Director for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special, the Royal Television Society Award for Breakout Performance Behind the Scenes, and the BAFTA Award for Best Direction of Bleak House, which was the Best Drama Serial winner in the British Academy Television Awards 2006. Bleak House was also nominated for two Golden Globes, four Royal Television Society Awards, three Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, three Satellite Awards, and the Television Critics Award.
Following The Other Boleyn Girl, which was screened at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, he completed the multiple award-winning and critically acclaimed feature film The First Grader, starring Naomie Harris.
WILLIAM NICHOLSON (WRITER)
William Nicholson was born in 1948, and grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire. He was educated at Downside School and Christ’s College, Cambridge, and then joined BBC Television, where he worked as a documentary film maker. There his ambition to write, directed first into novels, was channeled into television drama. His plays for television include Shadowlands and Life Story , both of which won the BAFTA Best Television Drama award in their year; other award-winners were Sweet As You Are and The March . In 1988 he received the Royal Television Society’s Writer’s Award. His first play, an adaptation of Shadowlands for the stage, was Evening Standard Best Play of 1990, and went on to a Tony Award winning run on Broadway. He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay of the film version, which was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.
Since then he has written more films – Sarafina, Nell, First Knight, Grey Owl , Gladiator (as co-writer), for which he received a second Oscar nomination, Elizabeth: the Golden Age, and Les Miserables. He has written and directed his own film, Firelight; and four further stage plays, Map of the Heart, Katherine Howard, The Retreat from Moscow , which ran for five months on Broadway and received three Tony Award nominations, and Crash.
His fantasy novel for older children, The Wind Singer, won the Smarties Prize Gold Award on publication in 2000, and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2001. Its sequel, Slaves of the Mastery, was published in 2001, and the final volume in the trilogy, Firesong , in 2002. The trilogy has been sold in every major foreign market, from the US to China.
His second sequence of fantasy novels is called The Noble Warriors. The first book is Seeker (2005), the second book, Jango (2006) and the third book Noman (2007).
His love-and-sex novel for teens, Rich and Mad, was published in 2010.
His novels for adults are The Society of Others (2004), The Trial of True Love (2005), The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life (2009), All the Hopeful Lovers (2010) The Golden Hour (2011), Motherland (2013) and Reckless (2014).
He lives in Sussex with his wife, the social historian Virginia Nicholson, and their three children.
ANANT SINGH (PRODUCER)
Born and raised in apartheid South Africa in the eastern coastal city of Durban, 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.
Anant 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, among which are “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.
A selection of his subsequent feature films includes: Sarafina! with Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo and Miriam Makeba; The Road to Mecca, with Kathy Bates; Father Hood, with Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry; Captives, with Julia Ormond and Tim Roth; Stephen King’s The Mangler, Cry, the Beloved Country with James Earl Jones and Richard Harris; and Red Dust, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor, a drama focussing on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Released in 2008 and produced by Singh is More Than Just A Game, the moving docu-drama feature which tells the inspiring story of organised soccer among prisoners on Robben Island (the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated by the apartheid regime in South Africa).
The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, was a hit at the Telluride, Toronto, London and Doha Film Festivals in 2010, tells the remarkable and uplifting story of a proud old Mau Mau veteran who is determined to seize his last opportunity to learn to read and goes to school for the first time, joining a class of six year olds.
Among the documentary features produced by Singh are My Hunter’s Heart which explores the world’s oldest Shamanic culture and how it is now at the brink of extinction; and Once In A Lifetime which celebrates the magic and euphoria of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Anant 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 1250 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 honoured 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.
ABOUT THE CAST
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.
Idris was most recently seen in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, alongside Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi. This fall, Idris will reprise 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 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, Idris 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 Beyone 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, Idris landed the role of Stringer Bell, the lieutentant 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.
Idris 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 will air 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 six 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.
On television, Harris starred in the BBC’s SMALL ISLAND and BLOOD AND OIL and in the UK’s popular television adaptation of Zadie Smith’s bestselling novel, WHITE TEETH, as well as the adaptation of the novel POPPY SHAKESPEARE, and Peter Kosminsky’s THE PROJECT.
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 honours from Cambridge University with a degree in social and political science then trained at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
TONY KGOROGE (WALTER SISULU)
Tony Kgoroge is an accomplished theatre, television, and film actor. He graduated from Pretoria Technikon. In 1997 he received a Vita award for the best upcoming actor. He has been involved with numerous theatre produtions, including Die Jogger, Equus, Woza Albert, Fiddler On the Roof, Mooi Street Moves, and Joseph. He also toured England with Sezar.
He has played leads in many television series including: Isidingo; Deafening Silence; Dark Angels; Tarzan; Soul City; Gazlam; Homecoming and Zero Tolerance.
His film work includes: Blood Diamond directed by Edward Zwick for Warner Bros; Lord of War directed by Andrew Nichols; Hotel Rwanda directed by Terry George; Hijack stories directed by Oliver Schmidt and The Bird Can’t Fly directed by Threes Anna.
RIAAD MOOSA (AHMED KATHRADA)
Riaad Moosa is one of South Africa’s most popular, award-winning and innovative comedians; and happens to be a qualified medical doctor as well! Recently, Riaad has also flexed his comedic and dramatic acting muscles, playing the lead in the movie “Material”, which is currently inspiring audiences all over South Africa. On stage, he conquers new fans on an almost daily basis with sold-out one-man shows such as “Strictly Halaal” and “Riaad Moosa For The Baracka.” Both shows prompted extended runs, as well as special shows being created to accommodate the huge public demand. Both shows were also released on DVD. Riaad has appeared in various TV and film productions, such as “Laugh Out Loud” (SA’s largest standup comedy show in TV history); Riaad was also a writer and performer for SABC 1’s “Pure Monate Show” – which achieved cult status amongst South Africa’s youth. He also featured in the Anant Singh/John Vlismas produced comedy-collective feature film “Outrageous”, which was released at cinemas nationwide towards the end of 2009. Along with SA’s other top comedians – including Trevor Noah, David Kau, John Vlismas, Tumi Morake and Marc Lottering – Riaad was one of the headline acts supporting international superstar Eddie Izzard for the 46664 “It’s No Joke” concert in February 2010. Riaad has since become a regular presenter of a segment entitled “The Second Opinion – with Dr Riaad Moosa” on the E news channel’s satirical news programme “Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola.” In March 2011, Riaad was awarded the “Comics Choice Award” at the “1st Annual South African Comic’s Choice Awards.”
Moosa, one of the country’s most popular and acclaimed funnymen with a style all his own, is known as “the Comedy Doctor”, and he certainly seems to have the remedy for the nation’s ills at the moment: a healthy dose of laughter, straight up – hold the aspirin.
JAMIE BARTLETT (JAMES GREGORY)
Jamie was born in Berkshire, England in 1966 and was schooled in Cape Town and Johannesburg. He studied Speech and Drama at the University of Cape Town and Post Graduated with Peter Bridgemont at Chrysalis Theatre Acting School in London.
He turned professional in 1986 in the Award Winning play “Cock & Bull Story”. He has worked extensively in Theatre, Film and Television in South Africa and England. He has been nominated for 5 Best Actor Theatre Awards, 2 for Television and 1 for Film.
Jamie played a lead in the local Drama Series, ISIDINGO which made him a household name. He performs many Guest appearances on live television shows, radio talk shows and as master of ceremonies.
He recently starred opposite Angelina Jolie in Beyond Borders and Hilary Swank in Red Dust.
LINDIWI MATSHIKIZA (ZINDZI MANDELA)
Lindiwe Matshikiza was born in London, UK, and came home to South Africa in 1991. She completed a BA degree and an Honours degree in Drama at Rhodes University. As a student, she was cast as the title character in Chris Mann’s Thuthula: Heart of the Labyrinth directed by Janet Buckland- her first major role-, which ran on the main programme of the National Arts Festival in 2003. After graduating as one of the top Drama students of her year in 2004, she lived and worked in Cape Town as an educational theatre facillitator and freelance performer. It was during this time that she first collaborated with award-winning playwright Mike Van Graan, her breakthrough role being the lead in the two-hander Mixed Metaphors. The role earned her a Naledi Best Newcomer nomination, and led to her being cast in the one-hander Bafana Republic by Mike Van Graan, directed by Lara Bye (2007). The play has toured the country’s leading theatres and festivals, and has earned Matshikiza outstanding critical acclaim, nominations on her performance (Aardklop Festival Best Actress Nominee, 2007; SA Comedy Awards Best Breakthrough Artist Nominee, 2007), and an SA Comedy Award for Best One-Person Show.
As an actor she has also worked with esteemed artists such as Andrew Buckland, Nicholas Ellenbogen, Jaco Bouwer, and Gary Gordon. She has directed for AREPP: Theatre for Life (Cape Town), and has led several drama workshops for various school’s festivals and mentorship programmes around the country. Her stage directorial debut played at the 2007 National Arts Festival: Recess, a one-hander written and performed by New York based artist-activist Una Osato, which has subsequently played to sold-out houses in New York City.
Matshikiza is now based in Johannesburg and is active in a number of areas related to theatre, film, design and community social events. Having studied jazz singing and theory as part of her BA degree, she is an amateur singer, an interest that has fortified much of the performance work she has been involved in to date.
DEON LOTZ (KOBIE COETZEE)
The internationally award winning actor Deon Lotz studied drama in Cape Town before entering a career of thirteen years in the Hospitality industry where he opened and managed various five star hotels in and around Cape Town.
Deon returned to acting fulltime in 2001 and has been in a variety of theatre, television, radio and film productions.
In 2008 he received a Fleur du Cap – Best Actor theatre nomination for his performance in Wrestlers at Artscape. He was nominated this year for a Fiesta Theatre Award as Best Actor in the play – “Agterplaas”.
2011 has been a great year in Film for Deon. Roepman was released and Skoonheid /Beauty premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Queer Palm Award as it was part of the Uncertain Regard section of the competition. The film also won an award at the Durban Film Festival in South Africa and Deon won the Best Actor award at the Zurich Film Festival and the SAFTA Best Actor award in South Africa 2012.
Sleepers Wake and Flight of the Storks are two more films that were completed last year and due for release during 2012.
Deon and his family live in Cape Town where he completed filming on “Verraaiers”, Black South Easter, Vloeksteen and Long Walk to Freedom .
MAIN CREDITS
The Weinstein Company
Anant Singh Presents
In Association With Distant Horizon Origin Pictures Pathe
Long Walk To Freedom (PTY) LTD Industrial Development Corporation Of South Africa Limited National Empowerment Fund A
Videovision Entertainment Production
A Justin Chadwick Film
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM
Directed By
Justin Chadwick
Screenplay By
William Nicholson
Based On Nelson Mandela’s Autobiography
Long Walk To Freedom
Produced By
Anant Singh
Producer for Origin Pictures
David M. Thompson Idris Elba Naomie Harris Tony Kgoroge Riaad Moosa Jamie Bartlett Lindiwe Matshikiza Terry Pheto Deon Lotz
Executive Producers
Cameron McCracken Francois Ivernel Geoffrey Qhena Basil Ford
Executive Producers
Sudhir Pragjee Sanjeev Singh Philisiwe Mthethwa Hlengiwe Makhathini
Co-Producers
Robert Naidoo Brian Cox Vlokkie Gordon
Director of Photography
Lol Crawley, BSC
Production Designer
Johnny Breedt
Editor
Rick Russell
Music By
Alex Heffes
Music Contributions
Caiphus Semenya Blondie Makhene Dizu Plaatjies
Casting Director
Moonyeenn Lee
Costume Designers
Diana Cilliers Ruy Filipe
Courtesy of: Robin Beaman
President of Beaman Incorporated