The first look image from Bill Condon’s The Road Home has arrived, revealing South African actor, writer, director and producer Thabo Rametsi in his role as trumpet legend and activist Hugh Masekela. The image, released by Canal+, Studiocanal, Flora Film and South African co-producer Blue Ice, shows Rametsi as Masekela at his trumpet as filming continues on location in South Africa.
The Road Home tells the story of Masekela during one of the most culturally charged moments of the anti-apartheid movement. Exiled from his native South Africa for 30 years following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, Masekela finds himself at a crossroads when the Anti-Apartheid Movement, led by his mentor Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, launches a boycott against his friend Paul Simon over Simon’s township music-inspired album Graceland, accusing Simon of violating the United Nations’ Cultural Boycott. Masekela, who saw music as a powerful weapon in the struggle, ultimately splits from Huddleston and joins forces with fellow exile and lifelong collaborator Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba to create the Graceland band, a supergroup designed to bring South Africa’s voice to the world.
Rametsi, who also serves as executive producer on the film, spoke to the weight of the role. “When you tell the story of Giants you must shout it from the highest mountain. These are our giants and this film is the highest mountain we could find. We hope our humble tribute honours them accordingly.”
He is joined in the cast by Cynthia Erivo as Miriam Makeba, Guy Pearce as Archbishop Trevor Huddleston and Johnny Flynn as Paul Simon.
Condon, whose credits include Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls and Kiss of the Spider Woman, directs from an original screenplay by Michael Bronner, whose research included in-depth interviews with Paul Simon and collaboration with renowned South African writer Zakes Mda, who interviewed Masekela extensively. The Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, which provided valuable institutional knowledge during the writing process, is also an executive producer on the film.
The soundtrack will feature new recordings from Masekela and Makeba’s catalogue alongside Paul Simon’s work, overseen by veteran music producer Hilton Rosenthal, who was instrumental in supporting Simon during the original making of Graceland.
The film is produced by Laura Bickford, Michael Bronner, Greg Yolen and Anant Singh, in association with Blue Ice’s Tebogo Maila and Adam Friedlander. Studiocanal will distribute in South Africa, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand, with Palisades Park Pictures handling international sales for the rest of the world.