Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom received four nominations for the 45th NAACP Image Awards, it was announced in Pasadena, California, last night. The film received nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Idris Elba), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Naomie Harris), and Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Justin Chadwick).
The NAACP Image Awards are presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honour outstanding people in film, television, music and literature.
Other multiple Image Award nominees are 12 Years A Slave, with seven nominations, two of which are for Supporting Actress; Lee Daniels’ The Butler, with eight nominations, including three for Supporting Actor; and Fruitvale Station, with five nominations.
Producer Anant Singh commented, “The NAACP Image Awards are one of the most prestigious and we are hugely excited with this honour. My congratulations go to Idris, Naomie and Justin, together with the tens of thousands of people in South Africa who came together to work so passionately on this film.”
The 45th annual NAACP Image Awards ceremony will be held on 22 February 2014 and will be broadcast on the TV One channel in the United States.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is in its second month of release in South Africa and is showing at 44 cinemas countrywide.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is an Anant Singh presentation of a Justin Chadwick film. A Videovision Entertainment production in association with Distant Horizon, Origin Pictures, Pathe, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and the National Empowerment Fund. The film stars Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Terry Pheto, Jamie Bartlett, and Deon Lotz. Music is composed by Alex Heffes with music contributions from Caiphus Semenya, Blondie Makhene and Dizu Plaatjies. The Co-Producers are Robert Naidoo, Brian Cox, Vlokkie Gordon, Hlengiwe Makhathini, with Executive Producers Cameron McCracken, François Ivernel, Geoffrey Qhena, Basil Ford, Philisiwe Mthethwa, Harvey Weinstein, Sudhir Pragjee and Sanjeev Singh. Producer for Origin Pictures is David M Thompson.
Produced by Anant Singh, the film is based on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, with the screenplay by William Nicholson. It is directed by Justin Chadwick.