The Source Magazine was on the red carpet for the New York premiere of The Weinstein Company’s “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom,” which opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 29 and nationwide on December 25. Ashanti, Michael Strahan, Kevin Liles and June Ambrose were a few of the celebs who joined Idris Elba and Naomie Harris at the star-studded premiere, which was supported in part by DeLeón Tequila.
‘Mandela’ is based on South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography of the same name, which chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. Idris Elba stars as Nelson Mandela, Naomie Harris stars as Winnie Mandela and Justin Chadwick directed the film.
Before the screening began, Harvey Weinstein introduced the cast and director. He said right after Nelson Mandela had been released from prison Robert De Niro invited him to the Tribeca Film Center and Eddie Murphy was in attendance at the special event. Mandela thanked De Niro and Murphy for getting him through his time in prison because every Thursday they would watch films, which featured the two actors and it brought some joy to their days.
Zindzi Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s daughter, also spoke before the screening. She said, “It hasn’t been an easy life growing up with parents like mine. I was 18 months old when my father went to prison. I was a grown woman and a mother of three when he came back, and that had its challenges.” She praised producer Anant Singh for his dedication to the project (25 years) and Idris and Naomie for their stunning performances. Definitely keep an eye on these two as awards season progresses.
On the red carpet we spoke with “Mandela” director Justin Chadwick. When asked if anything moved him, while filming he said, “Everyday I was moved…I used to drive everybody crazy cause everyday I would say, ‘This is the most important scene of the movie.’ This is all real scenes, all the stories that I’ve heard from the people that were involved in the struggle or involved in the story. So we also worked with a lot of people that had been [there]…those parts are not CGI, they’re not extras, they are real people living in those communities, so the feeling off of those people, the feeling of that crowd, the men and women that are living the struggle today and are living through it. It was very, very emotional. So a lot of the scenes, like when he was released, many of those people had been there on the day he was released, so the overwhelming emotion that you felt when he came out there…I mean everyday the commitment from the country to make it, the commitment to truth that they all gave it was incredible, emotionally, but the next day we’d be up again and making it again and it was very exhilarating — I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but South Africa has this energy…just…it comes up…it’s a bit like being in New York, it’s exciting.”
The after-party continued at Stone Rose Lounge, where guests enjoyed the “Madame Butterfly” cocktail, which was made of DeLeón Diamante, Grapefruit, Jamaican Jerk, Agave and Mint.
