South Africa set to release Winnie Mandela movie

Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson and Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard star in Winnie Mandela, the untold love story of Winnie and Nelson Mandela. The movie is scheduled for release in South Africa on Friday 7 March 2014 exclusively at selected Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

The movie reveals Winnie Mandela’s remarkable journey amidst the turbulent decades of her husband Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment. Despite her own incarceration and torture, Winnie’s fierce courage in the face of personal and political turmoil show her unfaltering commitment to her husband’s dream of equality for their people. Winnie Mandela is an epic, often heart-wrenching voyage toward understanding one of the world’s most remarkable and enigmatic women.

"I was compelled and moved by the script. Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honoured to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told”, said Jennifer Hudson.

Directed by acclaimed South African director Darrell Roodt (Cry, The Beloved Country; Sarafina!; Yesterday), the screenplay for Winnie Mandela was co-written by Roodt and André Pieterse based on the book Winnie Mandela: A Life, by Anné Mariè du Preez Bezdrob, a former journalist. Winnie Mandela is co-produced by André Pieterse of Ma-Afrika Films (South Africa) and Michael Mosca of Equinoxe Films (Canada).

"The story of Winnie Mandela offers a unique perspective on the South African narrative. Most importantly, I want to focus on the beautiful and tragic love story of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, which was crushed by what history did to them. It is tragic that a woman who dedicated most of her adult life to him, ended up divorcing him. As a director, I am humbled to have artists such as Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard to work with,” said Darrell Roodt, director and Academy Award nominee filmmaker.

Winnie Mandela was filmed over 13 weeks on location in Johannesburg, Cape Town, the Transkei (Winnie’s place of birth) and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in incarceration, before he became South Africa’s first black president.

"We are honoured to be making this film and to be working with the brilliant Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard. This is inspired casting; two of Hollywood’s great talents," said producers André Pieterse and Michael Mosca.