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 American actor Morgan Freeman has been cast in the role of Mandela Why not African actors? With the focus of this year’s FESPACO on the role of the actor and the actress, those in Africa’s film industry need look no further than South Africa to come across one of the major issues causing concern. The casting black Americans in African roles has raised its head again with the news that Morgan Freeman has been given the role of Nelson Mandela in a forthcoming film about his life. “It’s so unfair” says South African actress Sithandiwe Kgoroge. Adding, “We have so much talent in South Africa.” She admits Freeman to be a very talented actor, who has the pulling power internationally, “but isn’t it about time someone gave an unknown the chance to become another Morgan Freeman?” she says. Sithandiwe and her husband Tony are both television actors and although they couldn’t make the trip to FESPACO, they were keen to express their views to the BBC’s FESPACO Live programme. On the subject of the forthcoming film Long Walk to Freedom, Tony chimes “The first thing that will go wrong as far as I can see is the accent. There’s nothing so horrible as to hear an American trying to put on a South African accent or any African accent for that matter”. He expressed concern that the film would lose the soul of the story. “A South African could play it with a much better understanding” he says. Adding, “the aim of a film is to take the people close to the truth”. “It breaks my heart to think that so-and-so could have played that part so well” said Sithandiwe. Freeman is not the first Hollywood star to be cast in such a high profile African role. Denzil Washington played the part of Steve Biko in the film “Cry Freedom”. |
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