The London Film Festival opened its 60th edition Wednesday with a spotlight on ethnic minority actors and filmmakers, reflecting a debate over the lack of diversity currently raging in Hollywood.
“We really wanted to shine a light on black stars,” festival director Clare Stewart told AFP as the event opened with a tale of inter-racial love in Botswana by British director Amma Asante who was born to Ghanaian parents.
“I’m incredibly excited by just how dynamic, and broad, and urgent and challenging and entertaining are a lot of the films that are coming from black storytellers in this line-up,” Stewart added.
First up was Asante’s “A United Kingdom”, an account of the real-life marriage of Botswana prince Seretse Khama, played by David Oyelowo, and a white English woman, Ruth Williams,
