It’s still very much early days yet, but there’s every reason to expect Idris Elba’s leading performance in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom to push both the film and himself straight towards the Oscars, the BAFTAs, and all the leading awards ceremonies in the coming months.
The first teaser trailer that launched last week set the tone nicely for the film, without really showing us anything from it. And now The Weinstein Company have launched the first theatrical trailer, via Yahoo Movies, which gives us a much better look, strengthening the suggestion that is bound for the Oscars.
The story of South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, spanning over seventy years, including his struggle against apartheid, 27 years in jail, and his rise to prominence as a political leader and head-of-state.
This epic motion picture spans Mandela’s extraordinary life, from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected President of South Africa. MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is the thrilling story of an ordinary man who rose to the challenge of his times and triumphed – an intimate portrait of the making of a modern icon.
Elba is of course front and centre as the eponymous Nelson Mandela, with Naomi Harris starring opposite as his on-screen wife, Winnie Mandela. And starring alongside them will be Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Zolani Mkiva, and Jamie Bartlett.
Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) is directing from a script penned by Oscar nominee William Nicholson (Gladiator, Les Misérables).
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is set to begin its limited release in the US on November 29th, before opening in the UK at the start of next year on 3rd January, 2014. If you were in any doubt as to this film being one of the big contenders of the year, then look no further than this new trailer.
