A few years back, British director Amma Asante made Belle, a historical drama about a mixed-race girl raised amongst the eighteenth century English aristocracy. Now she’s back with another fact-based film about an interracial, class-defying couple: Seretse Khama (David Oyewelo) was literal royalty – heir to the throne of the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland – and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white woman, was a law clerk in London. They married in 1948, causing an uproar that stretched from London to South Africa. Eventually their marriage survived exile, a freedom movement, and a reign as first couple of the newly independent Botswana. (Their son Ian is actually Botswana’s current president.)
A United Kingdom is playing daily at Avon Cinema and Jane Pickens Theater.