NEWS
EVENTS
'A United Kingdom': LFF's Press Conference with the cast
On Wednesday October, 5th Guestlist had the opportunity to be part of the 2016 London Film Festival's press conference that introduced the headline opening movie: "A United Kingdom". The cast which includes Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo and the director Amma Asante who attended the meeting along with Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, Laura Carmichael and Jessica Oyelowo and answered to questions on their upcoming film.
The director Amma Asante explained to the journalists that she was touched and felt a deep connection with Susan Williams' book Colour Bar and she immediately got in touch with David Oyelowo that accepted to star in this depiction of the incredible love story between Ruth and Sir Seretse Khama. One of the main difficulties she faced, was to find a right balance between the political and love-related aspects of this intriguing story.
It's not a fictional story: this actually happened. These people are absolutely real and the director along with the production believed in the importance of shooting the movie both in London and in the real villages in Botswana. They travelled to each village and asked for all the permissions. They wanted to respect the tradition of this beautiful place and at the same time, raise a social awareness for younger generations that may not know the story. Apart from the inconvenience caused by the incredible heat, the cast and crew enjoyed this unique experience. Rosamund Pike revelead that she was brought to tears when she acknowledged the incredible love-tie that connected this unordinary couple.
There was also time to discuss the lack of diversity and gender equality in Hollywood: Amma Asante explained that things are slowly improving and that she is trying to contribuite at the cause with this diversity battle.
It was an interesting press release. Have a look at the A United Kingdom trailer:
