RECONCILIATION – MANDELA’S MIRACLE

A film by Michael Henry Wilson

2010 / documentary / Etats-Unis / original title : RECONCILIATION: MANDELA'S MIRACLE / 52’ / Color / status : completed / short film / French catalog

Nelson Mandela was once considered a terrorist by the apartheid government. “Reconciliation” details events leading up to what South African’s coined “Mandela’s miracle”, a strategy that prevented a bloodbath and shepherded in a peaceful transition to a democracy. It is driven by the notion that even the most terrible tyranny can be overcome through reconciliation, as both the oppressed and the oppressors need to be liberated from the vice-grip of blind prejudice and injustice.

The film highlights testimonials from Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk, Ahmed Kathrada, Zindzi Mandela, Francois Pienaar, prison wardens, bodyguards, etc. along with potent archival footage. Woven into the story are interviews with Clint Eastwood on the set of “Invictus”, who states with a simple elegance, “the world needs more people like Mandela”.