Nelson Mandela flick to get royal premier

Long Walk to Freedom, a film based on the life of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography has been selected for the year’s Royal Film Performance to be held on 5th December.

The film is directed by Justin Chadwick and stars Luther’s Idris Elba as Mandela and British actress Naomie Harris as Mandela’s second wife. It charts Mandela's early life as a lawyer, his political activism and the 27 years of imprisonment that preceded his democratic election in 1994, the BBC reported. Early scenes of the film also show him as a womaniser, being violent towards his wife. Elba said that the film showed both sides of Mandela’s character- ‘the good and the bad’

The Royal Film Performance is the main fundraiser for the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), the trade charity for the UK film and television industries. Anne Bennett, the president of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund said that they were thrilled to be able to host the Royal Premiere of this momentous South African/British co-production.