Watch the powerful trailer for the film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
The long-awaited trailer for Nelson Mandela’s biopic has finally been made public – and British actor Idris Elba is already tipped for an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the South African icon.
The first official trailer of the much anticipated film adaptation of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was released on Friday, just under a week before Mandela’s 95th birthday on Thursday 18 July.
The one minute teaser shows Idris Elba, who plays the apartheid icon, walking up a grassy hill bathed in the golden light of sunset, already an elder man, with children running around him. The breathtaking aerial view is presumably meant to be near Mandela’s rural home in Qunu, Eastern Cape.
In a voiceover, Elba, who seems to have mastered Mandela’s characteristic tone of voice, says, “I have walked a long walk to freedom. It has been a lonely road and it is not over yet. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of their skin. People learn to hate. They can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart.”
Although the film has not yet been seen by critics, there is already talk of a potential Oscar nomination for Elba’s portrayal of Mandela.
The film is directed by Jason Chadwick, who previously did The Other Boleyn Girl, and is co-produced by Anant Singh and Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company.
The movie co-stars Skyfall Bond girl Naomie Harris as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and also features South African stars including Tony Kgoroge as Walter Sisulu, Fana Mokoena as Govan Mbeki and Riaad Moosa as Ahmed Kathrada.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is due to be released in South Africa on 6 December 2013, and on 3 January 2014 in the United Kingdom.
