'Long Walk to Freedom' director describes Nelson Mandela’s reaction to new biopic

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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom marches into theaters nationwide November 29, and gives viewers a glimpse into the iconic life of South African President Nelson Mandela.

The film is the only biopic approved by the legendary civil rights leader, and is based on Mandela’s autobiography of the same name.

Long Walk to Freedom chronicles Mandela’s early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before coming South Africa’s first black president.

“To explore the film from him as a man and the vulnerabilities and frailties and the flaws that he and Winnie have as people, made this story all the more extraordinary for me,” the film’s director Justin Chadwick told theGrio.

Chadwick opened up about an afternoon he spent with Mandela prior to filming Long Walk to Freedom.

“We’d taken him and iPad as a gift just before his 94th birthday. He was like electricity,” Chadwick said. “It was inspiring. I sat next to him and we had this iPad, and we had all these images on the iPad of his life and people he had met along we way. He loved it. He was so sharp. He knew every single date, person, and where he was exactly.”

“Unfortunately just as I was getting the final cut ready he was very ill and he had just come back home, but he saw the very last shot.”

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Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC