'One Humanity' movie premiers in Pretoria and London

The Premier of the movie 'One Humanity' is currently underway at the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria and at the British Academy of Television Arts in London.

The movie is based on two apartheid-era music concerts advocating the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1988 and 1990 respectively. They took place in Britain. Sunday’s premier of the movie coincides with 20 years of freedom celebrations in South Africa.

'One Humanity' is a feature documentary about the international community's fight to end apartheid and activism for the release of Nelson Mandela. "We looked back at the two global broadcasts to see the only time that broadcasters came together for a political cause and interviewed 30 different people and those involved in the struggle here." says producer Tony Hollingsworth.

'One Humanity' tells the story of how the world came to focus on endeavours to end apartheid through two star-studded global television broadcasts.

In 1988 the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London called for Mandela's release and was broadcast to a 600-million audience in 100 countries. In April 1990, 54 days after his release from 27 years' imprisonment, the International Tribute for a Free South Africa was produced at Mandela's request.

This to remind the world that his release was not the end of Apartheid and challenges to humanity. "We must understand that if there were so many people who were ready to sacrifice their lives and energy for our struggle, we must always be ready to sacrifice our time and energy," says struggle veteran Essop Pahad.

British High Commissioner Judith McGregor says it is like a moment in history. "This documentary is like a reminder to ourselves of what it entailed, who was involved and how strong the feelings were at the time in my country."

'One Humanity' will also show at the Durban Film festival and on SABC TV in May.