Image Entertainment has acquired all U.S. rights to Winnie Mandela at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival. Budgeted at $15 million, the film is an adaptation of Anné Mariè du Preez Bezdrobs biography “Winnie Mandela: A Life” and is written and directed by Darrell J. Roodt.
Winnie Mandela stars Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, Sex in the City) and Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow, Red Tails, Iron Man) and will be released in theaters fall 2013. The film is presented by TD Jakes, and produced by André Pieterse (Ironwood Films) and Michael Mosca (Equinoxe Films). Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer for Image Entertainment, made todays announcement.
Both Jennifer Hudson (as Winnie) and Terrence Howard (as Nelson Mandela) deliver exceptional, solid performances, said Bromiley. We are honored to distribute the film and give audiences the opportunity to see Winnie Mandelas powerful story.
’Winnie Mandela’ has been a labor of love, said director Darrell J. Roodt. We wanted to uphold the prestige of the Mandela name and tell her story as accurately and respectfully as possible. We took great pride and responsibility in creating this movie, and we are proud to release the never-before-seen dramatic love story this Fall. The brilliant acting by Jennifer and Terrence, supported by the excellent cinematography and outstanding title song by six time Academy Award nominee Diane Warren (sung by Jennifer Hudson), make this film incomparable.
This movie offers American audiences a rare opportunity to visit the amazing beauty of South Africa from a theater seat, said TD Jakes, CEO of TDJ Enterprises. But even more, it is an epic look at love and liberty and the great expense incurred to attain and maintain either. It is our honor to inspire a wider audience to sample the drama of a love life painted on the canvas of Apartheid. Image Entertainment and RLJ, we applaud you for having the courage to unveil this compelling story on screen.
Winnie Mandela explores the personal and political life of the wife of renowned activist and former South African President, Nelson Mandela (Terrence Howard). The film tells the compelling story of one womans journey as she fights for the freedom of the man she loves and for the freedom of her people during the Apartheid era. Winnie Mandela depicts the struggle to keep the Mandela dream alive amidst her husbands life imprisonment, her own time in solitary confinement, and her battle to overcome controversies that followed her through the years.
