Amma Asante To Direct David Oyelowo And Rosamund Pike In ‘A United Kingdom’Posted by Wilson Morales
May 27, 2015
Source: THR
Amma Asante, who directed last year’s period drama Belle that starred Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is set to helm the racial drama A United Kingdom, which stars David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, in a love story based on the true tale of Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams.
Written by Guy Hibbert, Oyelowo will play Seretse, heir to the African throne of Botswana, who created a sensation in 1948 by engaging in a whirlwind romance in London with Williams, a white English office worker he married in 1949. The interracial union was opposed by both their families, as well as the British government, the Tribal elders of Botswana and the apartheid government of South Africa. The couple would not be denied, overcoming huge obstacles to be together. His uncle attempted to depose him, and he ended up being banned from his home country South Africa in 1951 due to its illegal stance on interracial marriage. Their son, Ian Khama, is currently the freely elected president of Botswana.
“Amma and Rosamund are two of the most exciting talents working in film today,” said Oyelowo, who is also one of the project’s producers. “I’ve worked with both of them before and so my excitement about them joining A United Kingdom stems from a knowledge of just how inspiring they are to work with and how much daring and beauty they will bring to this epic love story.”
Just like Nelson and Winnie Mandela approved of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, this film’s being done with cooperation from the Khama family, which issued a statement from Botswana: “We are pleased that the story of Sir Seretse Khama and Lady Khama is being brought to life in the film A United Kingdom by Pathe. Our family has been regularly involved in development of this film so far, having collaborated closely with the screenwriter Guy Hibbert in what we believe is a wonderful script. We are equally pleased that David Oyelowo will lead the cast as Seretse.”
Pathe International is financing and is one of the production companies behind the project along with Oyelowo. Production is expected to begin in October.
Asante’s other film ‘Unforgettable,’ about a woman who sets out to make the life of her ex-husband’s new wife hell, is set at Warner Bros. but has no production date set.
