Screen Seven – A United Kingdom – a Africa interest event taking place on 2017-12-04 20:00:00 in United Kingdom
A United Kingdom tells the inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, Apartheid and empire – their love triumphed over every obstacle flung in their path and in so doing they transformed their nation and inspired the world.
When Seretse proposes, having duly explained his true identity, Ruth imagines a new life away from the misty drizzle of London, a life that, she assures her fiance, will be taken “moment by moment – together”. But when the news of this high-profile black-and-white union reaches neighbouring South Africa, whose National party is busy enshrining apartheid in law, the cash-strapped British authorities move first to forbid and then to undermine the marriage, scared of alienating their supplier of cheap gold and uranium. Seretse’s regent uncle, Tshekedi Khama, also refuses to countenance a white queen and a rift develops that threatens to tear apart more than just love.
Handsomely shot on locations in the UK and Botswana by Sam McCurdy, A United Kingdom contrasts sweeping exteriors with fusty interiors, breathing rich visual life into the battle between an entrenched establishment and an emerging republic.
Dir: Amma Asante, UK, 1hr 51min. PG-13.
Stars: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton
at Bar Seven 7 Blenheim Terrace Leeds United Kingdom – Add your South African Event here.
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