Was her flame
You’ve been consistent in the consciousnessraising work of taking the stories of apartheid to the world. But political stories need humanity. How difficult was it to portray the complicated character that is Winnie?
I am fortunate to have known Winnie since the mid-’80s, having been introduced to her by our mutual friend, Fatima Meer. I have great admiration for her and learnt a lot about her personal struggle directly from Fatima. In filmic terms, Winnie’s story is far more interesting than Madiba’s, specifically during the period he was in prison, and this influenced the journey we went through with over 70 drafts of the screenplay. The challenge for us was to fully encompass the epic story and tell it in two hours.
Over the years, I had several discussions with her about her portrayal, and said I would do it honestly and show some of the issues she had to deal with. Although she said she trusted me, I’m sure she was quietly apprehensive. But when the movie was complete, just the two of us watched it together. At the end, she turned to me, gave me a hug and a kiss and said “thank you and don’t change anything”. Her admiration for Naomie (Harris) playing her was also amazing. She said “this girl has to have some African blood in her”.
Inasmuch as Sarafina! told the story of 1976, Leleti Khumalo’s character took in the power of Winnie, who was totemic particularly to young women. How much of an influence has she had on the Sarafinas?
Clearly the strength of Winnie and the strength of young women was a large part of what Sarafina was about, especially as the 1976 generation was inspired by her. Mbongeni Ngema crafted the musical with immense care, and of course it was the fact that a woman was a lead character, aspiring to be Nelson Mandela, which was an obvious influence, using the strands of Winnie’s journey. These would include incarceration, the trauma and many other challenges.
How accurate do you think your casting choice was in terms of Naomie Harris? Did you want to be able to lose yourself in her performance, knowing what Winnie was really like, or is such a portrayal not only about replication?
Winnie’s character is very complex, and demanding for an actor. There are so many facets to her that we needed a versatile actress who would be able to assimilate the character and become Winnie. I felt Naomie could pull the role off effortlessly and she was the only person I offered it to. I had produced The First Grader, in which she starred three years before we embarked on Long Walk to Freedom. At the world premiere of The First Grader in Toronto 2010, I said to her, I’m going to send you a screenplay to play Winnie Mandela in our film. I cast her before Idris (Elba) as she has the magic we needed. Of course she thought this would never materialise.