Interracial love story brought to film
MARCUS Ter Haar feels “slightly strange” every time he watches his grandparents’ love story play out on the big screen.
The film, A United Kingdom tells the true story of the forbidden love between Seretse Khama, the king of Botswana (then known as Bechuanaland), and English insurance clerk Ruth Williams.
Although it will only hit South African screens in December, the movie formed part of Botswana’s Independence Day anniversary celebrations this week, with members of the Khama family, the British monarchy, dignitaries and cast members attending the premiere.
Ter Haar, who consulted with producers on behalf of the Khama family to ensure the details were accurate said: “We were all very pleased. The women were very emotional during the film, which one can understand.
“Against all odds my grandparents succeeded, they stood against what they thought were flawed principles . . . they won in the end. It was almost the basis on which the principles of the nation were founded.”
The couple’s daughter, Jackie Khama, struggled to contain her emotions when she watched her parents’ story for the first time this week at a private screening: “The film was a fitting, if not emotional, tribute to the legacy of my parents; I thoroughly enjoyed their story being recounted on film.”
The interracial romance between Seretse Khama and Williams caused an international scandal. They married in 1948 despite fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments.
Bechuanaland had been a British protectorate since the 1880s. At the time of the marriage, South Africa had begun enforcing grand apartheid under prime minister HF Verwoerd.
After initially rejecting the idea, the people of Khama’s homeland supported the marriage, but the British government launched a parliamentary inquiry into Khama’s fitness for the chieftainship and subsequently exiled the couple from Bechuanaland.
Five years later, after various appeals and Khama renouncing his throne, the couple were allowed to return as private citizens. He entered politics and was appointed president of an independent Botswana in 1966 — the same year in which he received a British knighthood.
Sir Seretse died in 1980, aged 59, and his wife in 2002, when she was 78.
British director Amma Asante has turned the story into a powerful romantic drama starring Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike and Nigerianborn David Oyelowo, of Selma fame.
South African actress Terry Pheto plays Seretse’s sister Naledi, who died earlier this year. Other familiar South African actors are Vusi Kunene, who plays Seretse’s uncle Tshekedi Khama, and Abena Ayivor who plays his wife, Ella Khama.
“The lesson here is that love wins, it conquers all. Being a part of this film showed me that you see a man’s strength by the way he treats his family,” Pheto said this week.
The story is also putting Botswana on the map. Ter Haar, who attended the film’s screening at the Toronto Film Festival last month, said some people had never heard of Botswana.
“It’s fantastic, because it has huge potential to generate interest in the country. It’s the first time we’ve been able to tell such a prominent story of our history in a way that is so accessible.”
The lesson here is that love wins, it conquers all