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MPAA Hosts A United Kingdom Screening with Director Amma Asante

February 7, 2017

Last week, the MPAA hosted a special screening of Fox Searchlight Pictures’ A United Kingdom. The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, a Botswanan Prince, and Ruth Williams, a white British woman in the late 1940s, whose extraordinary love survived pressure from Botswana, the imperial British government, and the apartheid government of South Africa to change the course of a nation.

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Director Amma Asante brings A United Kingdom to life, drawing powerful performances from the cast, including David Oyelowo as Seretse and Rosamund Pike as Ruth. This film is Asante’s third feature, following A Way of Life and Belle. A native of London and daughter of immigrants from Ghana, Asante brings her personal perspective to her films to reach audiences in a way that truly resonates.

“With A United Kingdom, Ms. Asante takes us back in time and to foreign continents,” said MPAA Chairman and CEO Senator Chris Dodd. “But the story she tells – one of great love that against all odds can change perceptions and alter outlooks – is just as powerful today.”

Following the screening of A United Kingdom, attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from Asante during a Q&A session. Watch a clip from this discussion here:

 Special guests included: Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the U.S. David Newman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, and National Women’s History Museum President and CEO Joan Wages.

View more photos from the event here: 

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