A United Kingdom will receive its European Premiere this October – at the BFI Film Festival.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival has announced that this year’s opening night gala will be Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom – the gripping true story of the real-life love between an African King and an English office worker.
The story follows Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana) and Ruth Williams, the London office worker whom he married in 1947 despite fierce opposition from both their families and their governments.
After their marriage, the couple were forced to live in exile in the UK, but were allowed to settle in Bechuanaland in 1956. Khama gave up his royal status, and was elected the first president of an independent Botswana in 1966. They went on to have four children.
Starring Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo, the film was shot in some of the most beautiful parts of the city, featuring the wonderful landscapes of Botswana to form the backdrop of this touching story.
The cast is led by David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama, with Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) playing his future wife Ruth Williams. Other cast includes Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), Terry Pheto (Mandela), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Arnold Oceng (Adulthood), Jack Lowden (’71) and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey).
The 60th BFI London Film Festival takes place from Wednesday 5th October – Sunday 16th October 2016. The film will be released in cinemas on 25th November 2016.
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