Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2016: #97. Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom

A United Kingdom

Director: Amma Asante
Writer: Guy Hibbert

Following the critical success of her 2013 sophomore film Belle (read review), which showcased the impressive talents of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, actress turned director Amma Assante assembles acclaimed talents Rosamunde Pike and Davie Oyelowo for this tale of forbidden love, which filmed in the UK and Botswana. A United Kingdom details the tribulations of Seretse Khama, the man who would become the first president of Botswana after gaining freedom from England, his marriage to a white woman would compromise his relations with surrounding countries which deemed such a union illegal.

Cast: Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, David Oyelowo

Production Co./Producers: Brunson Green, David Oyelowo, Peter Heslop, Charlie Mason, Rick McCallum, Justin Moore-Lewy

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). Pathe (international).

Release Date: Fox Searchlight managed to give Assante’s handsomely assembled Belle the platform it deserved, and her continued recuperation of historical perceptions and challenges concerning racial disparities should find itself an even more notable premiere, perhaps at Toronto if it’s not ready in time for Berlin or Cannes.