Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked,” “Harriet”), Thabo Rametsi (“Silverton Siege”) and Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist,” “Ink”) are set to star in “The Road Home,” a musical drama about South African jazz legends Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba and Hugh Masekela, and their Apartheid-era Graceland tour with Paul Simon.
Award-winning South African star Rametsi will play the renowned trumpeter Masekela, who, exiled from his native South Africa, is pulled between two worlds. In the late 1980s, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, led by his mentor and fierce Anti-Apartheid advocate Archbishop Trevor Huddleston (Oscar nominee Pearce), launched a boycott against Hugh’s friend Paul Simon over his township music-inspired album “Graceland”, accusing Simon of violating the United Nations’ Cultural Boycott. Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winner and Academy Award-nominee Erivo will portray powerhouse vocalist Makeba as she joins forces with Masekela — who sees music as a powerful weapon in the struggle — to create the Graceland band, a super group designed to bring South Africa’s voice to the world.
Academy Award winner Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters,” “Dreamgirls,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman”) will direct “The Road Home” from an original script by Michael Bronner (“The Mauritanian,” “United 93”) and a story by Bronner and Zakes Mda.
“This is a powerful story about art intersecting with activism, a friction that’s only become more complex with time,” Condon said. “I’m honored to be a part of this extraordinary team.”
Bronner was originally approached to write the screenplay by the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation and he conducted extensive research for the script, including in-depth interviews with Simon. Additional story elements and research were contributed by renowned South African writer Mda, who interviewed Masekela extensively.
Studiocanal is financing the film, described as “a story of defiance, sacrifice and the resilience of the human spirit,” with Flora Films and Rob Bath. Studiocanal will distribute the movie in South Africa, U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand. Palisades Park Pictures — the independent entertainment company backed by Ashland Hill Media Finance, and helmed by CEO Tamara Birkemoe — will launch further international sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Filming is set to begin in June in South Africa.
Veteran music producer Hilton Rosenthal, who was instrumental in supporting Simon during the making of the “Graceland” album, will serve as co-producer on the project. Rosenthal has also been at the center of script development and secured music rights to both Simon’s work and that of iconic African artists, including the film’s protagonists, Masekela and Makeba. He will produce new recordings from Masekela and Makeba’s catalogue of songs for the film’s soundtrack.
The film will be produced by Oscar nominee Laura Bickford (“Traffic”) for Laura Bickford Productions, Bronner for Smashing Dandelions, Greg Yolen (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) for 1000 Eyes, and Anant Singh (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”), in association with executive producers Fiona Druckenmiller and Bath.
“Hugh Masekela, Trevor Huddleston and Miriam Makeba were remarkable people,” noted Singh, CEO of Videovision Entertainment. “Hugh’s journey with Archbishop Huddleston was legendary, and it is thrilling to bring ‘The Road Home’ to the big screen together with Studiocanal.”
Executive producers on behalf of Studiocanal are Anna Marsh, CEO of Studiocanal and chief content officer of Canal+, Ron Halpern, EVP of global production, and Shana Eddy-Grouf, U.S. chief creative officer, with Sudie Smyth leading physical production. Sam Shipp serves as a creative executive on the film.
“We are honored to bring this South African story to the screen: a story of friendship and resistance, carried by the extraordinary journeys of Hugh Masekela and Trevor Huddleston, Miriam Makeba and Paul Simon,” Marsh said. “Our constant goal is to bring local stories to a global audience — rooted in South Africa’s identity, this story speaks far beyond its borders, showing how music can become a force for identity and change. That is also why it was essential to tell this story from within South Africa, working closely with the voices and talent that shaped it.”
The Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation and David Dison will also serve as executive producers alongside award-winning South African broadcast journalist Siphiwo Ralo.
“We are proud to continue upholding the boundless legacy of our beloved Bra Hugh, who passionately founded the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation to preserve and promote African heritage and culture, and to celebrate the stories and talent of the continent,” representatives for the foundation added.
“In his unforgettable variety, it was always Hugh’s intention to celebrate the role that Father Huddleston played in his life, and to celebrate the voices of South African musicians, in the liberation of our country. This film is a testament to that truth,” their statement continues. “As Bra Hugh said of his journey, ‘I’ve got to where I am in life not because of something I brought to the world, but through something I found – the wealth of African culture.’”
Rametsi is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Myman Greenspan; Erivo is represented by UTA, Entertainment 360, The Lede Company and Peikoff Mahan; and Pearce is represented by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Shanahan Management.
Bill Condon is represented by WME, Anonymous Content and Alexander, Lawrence, Frumes & Labowitz. Bronner is repped at Echo Lake, Anonymous Content and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark.
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