Post date: Dec 05, 2013 11:25:49 PM
UK premiere of 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' rolls out only hours before announcement of the former South African president's death.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 05, 2013) (REUTERS) - Only hours before the death of Nelson Mandela was announced on Thursday (December 05) the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walked the red carpet for the annual Royal Film Performance and UK premiere of 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'.
The couple arrived in the evening dress code of black tie and waved and smiled as the crowd as they entered the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square.Earlier, the stars of the film, Idris Elba who plays Nelson Mandela and Naomie Harris, who plays his wife Winnie, walked the carpet and talked to reporters at the event.
Speaking about how the film was chosen to be the Royal Film Performance this year, Elba said "It's a real history when the royals watch a film. It's a great moment to celebrate the film makers and our industry and of course, this is Mandela who's had a long relationship with the Queen, so it feels great."
The film was recently released in South Africa where it has broken box office records, which was something that was a relief for Elba. "I was really overwhelmed by how South Africa really loved the film and they've had record-breaking box office and I've just been so relieved because if South Africa didn't like it, it would be heart-breaking for me," he said.
In the movie, Winnie Mandela is portrayed as being the polar opposite to Nelson with her war-mongering while he seeks for peaceful solutions. However, a few weeks ago, the director Justin Chadwick went to South Africa and showed the movie to her.
Naomie Harris told Reuters about her reaction. "Well she saw it in South Africa and she was in tears and she said she was so moved and she said it was the first time that she's felt fully conveyed truthfully on screen so that was a huge honour for me," he said.
Also giving her reaction to the film was Zindzi Mandela, Nelson and Winnie's daughter, who explained that watching the film was a bittersweet experience. "Certain instances in my life and episodes that I didn't confront and the movie just brought everything back, you know. So it was quite painful. Some parts were painful, some were quite a celebration, for me to say that at least we've overcome this that despite all the suffering and hardship we've emerged as people who've defined ourselves according to how much we've triumphed over that, rather than how much we've suffered," she said.
When asked about how her father is, she seemed unaware of any change in his condition and replied "He's fine thank you. He's just old. Thank you for that."
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" is released in the UK on January 3rd 2014.