Hugh Masekela movie reveals Thabo Rametsi in The Road Home first look
Thabo Rametsi appears as Hugh Masekela in the first image from Bill Condon’s The Road Home, now filming in South Africa.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
The Hugh Masekela movie The Road Home has shown its first card: Thabo Rametsi, trumpet in hand, stepping into the role of the South African music legend and anti-apartheid activist.
Deadline reported that the image was released by the film’s main backers and producers, Canal+, Studiocanal and Flora Film, along with South African co-producer Blue Ice. Filming is continuing in South Africa.
Rametsi, known for Silverton Siege, is also serving as an executive producer on the feature. The film is directed by Bill Condon, whose credits include Gods and Monsters.
What is the Hugh Masekela movie The Road Home about?
The Road Home follows Masekela during a fraught moment in the anti-apartheid movement, according to Deadline. The story places him at a crossroads after the Anti-Apartheid Movement, led by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, launches a boycott against Masekela’s friend Paul Simon over the township music-inspired album Graceland.
The boycott accused Simon of breaching the United Nations’ Cultural Boycott, Deadline reported. Huddleston is described in the film materials as an anti-apartheid advocate and mentor.
Masekela had left South Africa after the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and spent 30 years in exile in the United Kingdom and the United States, according to Deadline. The new image shows Rametsi’s Masekela playing the trumpet, the instrument tied to his global reputation.
The film’s account has Masekela breaking with Huddleston and joining fellow exile Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba. Together, they create the Graceland band, described by Deadline as a supergroup formed to carry South Africa’s voice to international audiences.
Who is in the cast?
Rametsi leads the cast as Masekela. Deadline previously reported that Guy Pearce plays Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, Johnny Flynn plays Paul Simon, and Cynthia Erivo plays Miriam Makeba.
Rametsi said in a statement reported by Deadline: “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.”
Condon directs from an original screenplay by Michael Bronner, whose credits include The Mauritanian and United 93. The story is by Bronner and Zakes Mda, Deadline reported.
The Canal+ and Studiocanal-backed feature is produced by Laura Bickford, Bronner, Greg Yolen and Anant Singh, according to Deadline. Blue Ice producers Tebogo Maila and Adam Friedlander are involved in association, with Fiona Druckenmiller and Rametsi among the executive producers.
No release date was included in the report.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.