Idris Elba's 'Mandela' to screen for President Obama at White House

Idris Elba stars in 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,' a biopic created with the support of Nelson Mandela and his family. Idris Elba plays the former South African president.

|
Keith Bernstein/The Weinstein Company/AP
Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela appears with Naomie Harris as Winnie Mandela in a scene from 'Mandela: Long walk to Freedom.' President Obama will screen the film Thursday at the White House. Mandela’s daughters Zindzi and Zenani Mandela will join, as will the film’s stars, Idris Elba and Naomie Harris.

The Nelson Mandela biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" will get an audience from President Barack Obama, as well as a screening at the Kennedy Center hosted by Hillary Clinton.

The Weinstein Co. tells The Associated Press that Obama will screen the film Thursday at the White House. Mandela's daughters Zindzi and Zenani Mandela will join, as will the film's stars, Idris Elba and Naomie Harris.

The film will also screen Nov. 20 at the Kennedy Center, with Clinton hosting the gala.

Though there have been other films about the former South African president, "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" has long had Mandela's approval and the cooperation of his family. It premiered Sunday in Johannesburg with much of Mandela's family in attendance.

"Mandela" opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 29.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Idris Elba's 'Mandela' to screen for President Obama at White House
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Latest-News-Wires/2013/1104/Idris-Elba-s-Mandela-to-screen-for-President-Obama-at-White-House
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe