Winnie Mandela disowns movie about her life

Late South African President Nelson Mandela’s ex-wif Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Monday dissociated herself with an upcoming movie about her life, Xinhua reported.
The movie “Winnie Mandela”, which portrays the personal and political life of the activist and ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, is scheduled to be released in South Africa’s theaters, according to the country’s National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

Mandela said that she had approached the movie producers to voice her concern but it fell on deaf ears.

“In my life’s struggle I have seen and heard many things said about me. I understand that my story, alongside that of my people is one that will continue to be told for many generations,” read a statement that Mandela issued Monday.

“In an attempt to ensure that my truth was reflected, I reached out to the film makers of ‘Winnie Mandela’ — my advances were rejected. I imagine the basis was to allow the creative process to occur organically– a concept I try to understand.

“I respect all creative efforts to make this story one that would appeal to a global audience as well as yield commercial gains for all those who invested in it,” she added her statement.

She further said that she would like her story to be told truthfully and correctly, denying some media reports that she is against the cast of the movie about her because it’s done by international artists.

“Unlike ‘Long Walk To Freedom’, this film is based on an unauthorised biography whose producers did not deem it fit to consult me or my family. My family and I are therefore not associated with this production,” she said.

Starring Academy Award winner US Actor Jennifer Hudson in the title role and Terrence Howard as Nelson Mandela, the film tells the story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s experiences during the turbulent decades of her husband’s imprisonment.

It was directed by South African award-winning filmmaker Darrell Roodt. The screenplay was co-written by Roodt and Andre Pieterse. It is based on the book, “Winnie Mandela: A Life”, by Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob, a former journalist.

The film was shot over 13 weeks on locations 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 democratically elected president, said the NFVF.