Overview
- Casting and production were announced Thursday, with Cynthia Erivo as Miriam Makeba, Thabo Rametsi as Hugh Masekela and Guy Pearce as Archbishop Trevor Huddleston under director Bill Condon.
- Writer Michael Bronner’s script centers on the late‑1980s fight over Paul Simon’s Graceland, a hit album built on South African township music that drew boycott claims, and the formation of a touring band led by Masekela and Makeba.
- Studiocanal is financing and will release in South Africa, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand, with filming set to begin in June in South Africa.
- Veteran producer Hilton Rosenthal secured music rights to songs by Paul Simon, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba, and he will produce new recordings for the film’s soundtrack.
- Palisades Park Pictures will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Festival, as the team leans on research and South African partners including the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation and writer Zakes Mda.