Winnie Mandela | |
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Directed by | Darrell Roodt |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Winnie Mandela: A Life by Anne Marie du Preez Bezrob |
Produced by | Michael Mosca |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Mario Janelle |
Edited by | Sylvain Lebel |
Music by | Laurent Eyquem |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Image Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Countries |
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Languages |
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Budget | $15 million [1] |
Box office | $80,634 [2] |
Winnie Mandela is a 2011 South African-Canadian historical drama film starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard as Winnie and Nelson Mandela. Based on Anne Marie du Preez Bezrob's biography Winnie Mandela: A Life, the film is directed by Darrell Roodt and co-stars Wendy Crewson, Elias Koteas and Justin Strydom. Image Entertainment released the film in theaters on September 6, 2013. [3] [4] [5] It received generally negative reviews.
Following the life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (Jennifer Hudson), from her strict rural upbringing by a father disappointed she was not born a boy, to her giving up the chance to study in America in order to remain in South Africa where she felt more needed, through her husband Nelson Mandela's (Terrence Howard) imprisonment. She then faces continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Orange Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement. Upon her release, she continues her husband's activism against apartheid and, after his release from prison, suffers divorce due to her infidelity and political pressures. She also faces accusations of violence and murder and in the end, must own up to her actions in court, while many still remain loyal to her because of her fight against apartheid. [6]
Writers Andre Pieterse and Darrell Roodt, who also directed, developed the screenplay based on Anne Marie du Preez Bezrob's biography Winnie Mandela: A Life. The film was produced by Equinoxe Films. Filming took place in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Robben Island in South Africa beginning in April 2010. [7]
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011. [8]
By April 2012, T.D. Jakes and his company TDJ Enterprises/Film Bridge International had taken over the production, distribution and marketing of the film. [9] It was released to a limited number of theatres in Canada on October 5, 2012. [10] On May 16, 2013, Image Entertainment acquired the rights to release the film in North America. [3] [4] [5]
The film holds a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 34 critics. The site's consensus states, "Winnie Mandela takes few chances and delves only superficially into its subject's life, making it feel more like a too-earnest made-for-TV movie than a proper biopic." [11] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail says, "Winnie begins as hagiography and ends in hellish confusion," and Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star said, "It won't satisfy history students curious about this polarizing figure, nor fans of its star, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson." [11] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Solid performances are undercut by lack of storytelling integrity in this plodding biopic," [12] and Ed Gibbs of The Guardian said, "This syrupy biography of the former wife of Nelson Mandela seeks to sugar-coat South Africa's complex history." [13]
Winnie Mandela criticized the fact that she was not consulted for the making of a film about her life, stating, "I have absolutely nothing against Jennifer [Hudson, the film's star], but I have everything against the movie itself. I was not consulted. I am still alive, and I think that it is a total disrespect to come to South Africa, make a movie about my struggle, and call that movie some translation of a romantic life of Winnie Mandela." [14]
Some South African actors also criticized the selection of American actors for South African roles; Oupa Lebogo, general secretary of the Creative Worker's Union (CWU) said of Hudson's casting, "This decision must be reversed, it must be stopped now. If the matter doesn't come up for discussion, we will push for a moratorium to be placed on the film being cast in South Africa. We are being undermined, there is no respect at all." [15]
A preview of the film released in November 2010 was referred to by the filmmakers as originating from computer hackers, saying it was an "unauthorised download originated from a secure website belonging to our sales representative, Filmbridge ... The material was not formally edited, graded or sound-mixed. At this stage, the producers have elected to make no further comment and are investigating the matter." [16]
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2003, and from 2009 until her death, and was a deputy minister of arts and culture from 1994 to 1996. A member of the African National Congress (ANC) political party, she served on the ANC's National Executive Committee and headed its Women's League. Madikizela-Mandela was known to her supporters as the "Mother of the Nation".
Albertina SisuluOMSG was a South African anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she was the founding co-president of the United Democratic Front. In South Africa, where she was affectionately known as Ma Sisulu, she is often called a mother of the nation.
Wendy Jane Crewson is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film The Doctor.
Jennifer Kate Hudson, also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer and actress. Having received numerous accolades for her work in music, film, television, and theater, Hudson became the youngest woman and third African-American recipient of all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT) in 2022. She was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
Brandfort, officially renamed Winnie Mandela in 2021, is a small agricultural town in the central Free State province of South Africa, about 60 km northeast of Bloemfontein on the R30 road. The town serves the surrounding farms for supplies and amenities. It is well known for once being home to the anti-apartheid stalwart and wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, during her banishment.
Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiography by South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, and it was first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years spent in prison. Under the apartheid government, Mandela was regarded as a terrorist and jailed on Robben Island for his role as a leader of the then-outlawed African National Congress (ANC) and its armed wing the Umkhonto We Sizwe. He later achieved international recognition for his leadership as president in rebuilding the country's once segregationist society. The last chapters of the book describe his political ascension and his belief that the struggle still continued against apartheid in South Africa.
Goodbye Bafana, or The Color of Freedom (US), is a 2007 drama film, directed by Bille August, about the relationship between Nelson Mandela and James Gregory, his censor officer and prison guard, based on Gregory's book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend. The film also explores the relationship of James Gregory and his wife as their life changes while Mandela is under Gregory's watch.
Darrell James Roodt is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer. He is probably most well known for his 1992 film Sarafina! which starred actress Whoopi Goldberg. Roodt has worked with the late Patrick Swayze in Father Hood, James Earl Jones in Cry, the Beloved Country and Ice Cube in Dangerous Ground.
James Seipei, also known as Stompie Moeketsi or Stompie Sepei, was a teenage United Democratic Front (UDF) activist from Parys, South Africa. He and three other boys were kidnapped on 29 December 1988 by members of Winnie Mandela's bodyguards. He was murdered on 1 January 1989, the only one of the boys to be killed.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Municipality, formerly Mbizana Municipality, is a local municipality within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, in the Wild Coast Region of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is named after Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist and wife of President Nelson Mandela.
Bizana is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality.
Sarafina! is a 1992 musical drama film based on Mbongeni Ngema's 1987 musical of the same name. The film was directed by Darrell Roodt and written by Ngema Mbongeni and William Nicholson, and stars Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, John Kani, Ngema, and Whoopi Goldberg; Khumalo reprises her role from the stage performance.
Mandela is a 1987 British television drama film directed by Philip Saville and written by Ronald Harwood. The film stars Danny Glover as Nelson Mandela and Alfre Woodard as his wife Winnie. The film premiered on HBO on 20 September 1987.
Mandela and de Klerk is a 1997 made-for-television drama film written by Richard Wesley and directed by Joseph Sargent. The film stars Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine. The film documents the negotiations between F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela to end South African apartheid, and was nominated for numerous awards in 1997 and 1998. It originally premiered on Showtime on February 16, 1997.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a 2013 biographical film directed by Justin Chadwick from a script written by William Nicholson and starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris. The film is based on the 1994 autobiographical book Long Walk to Freedom by anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Princess Zenani Mandela-Dlamini is a South African diplomat and traditional aristocrat. She is the sister-in-law of the King of eSwatini, Mswati III, and the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his former wife, Winnie Mandela.
Zindziswa "Zindzi" Mandela, also known as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane, was a South African diplomat and poet, and the daughter of anti-apartheid activists and politicians Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Zindzi was the youngest and third of Nelson Mandela's three daughters, including sister Zenani Mandela.
Rita Alice Ndzanga was a South African anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist.
Respect is a 2021 American biographical musical drama film directed by Liesl Tommy, written by Tracey Scott Wilson and Callie Khouri, based on the life of American singer Aretha Franklin. The film stars Jennifer Hudson as Franklin, with Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, and Mary J. Blige in supporting roles. The film follows the first three decades of Franklin's life, from being born as a musical prodigy in an affluent African-American family, the repercussions of losing her mother at age 10 to her arduous rise to international musical stardom, while enduring an abusive marriage, ultimately concluding with the recording of her influential live album Amazing Grace (1972).
Lindiwe Thembekani "Thembeka" Ndlovu was a South African actress. She is best known for the roles in the films Little One (2013), Safari (2013) and Winnie Mandela (2011).
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