WASHINGTON (October 31, 2013) —The ONE Campaign (www.ONE.org) and The Weinstein Company (TWC) today announced a partnership around the U.S. release of the new film, MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, which tells the story of former South African President and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. ONE, an advocacy organization with more than 3.5 million members engaged in the fight against extreme poverty in Africa, and TWC will work together around the film’s release to encourage a nationwide discussion on college campuses about Mandela’s life and legacy.

Mandela’s struggle for justice in South Africa, and his subsequent work to attract recruits in the broader fight against extreme poverty and AIDS, helped inspire the formation of ONE, which was cofounded by U2 lead singer Bono.

TWC will host 10 pre-release screenings of the film for the top 10 campuses in this year’s ONE Campus Challenge, a nationwide competition designed to mobilize students in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease. Through a series of challenges focused on raising awareness and taking action, schools will compete for a chance to win a private screening of the film and panel discussions on their campuses in early December. The winning campuses will be announced on November 11.

Two college student leaders who traveled with ONE to South Africa last year on a listening and learning trip, which included a visit to an orphanage in Cape Town on Nelson Mandela Day, will attend the star-studded premiere of the film in New York City on November 14, have the opportunity to conduct interviews for ONE and meet the film’s cast. These young activists will share their activities via ONE’s social media channels, encouraging discussion about how Nelson Mandela’s story can inspire their generation to carry out his legacy.

Michael Elliott, CEO & President of ONE said:

“Nelson Mandela is a true hero to all engaged in the fight against extreme  poverty. His conviction that poverty is not natural, but man-made, is at the heart of ONE’s mission. We are delighted to work with The Weinstein Company to share his story with millions of people around the world so they can see what an impact one person, one voice, can have on mankind.”

TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein said:

“We couldn’t think of a better partner for spreading the word about this film. It was Nelson Mandela who said we can be the great generation that makes poverty history – something The ONE Campaign fights for everyday.“

Writing in the foreword to a 2006 ONE report on how the world was responding to the fight against extreme poverty in Africa, Mandela said: “World leaders made promises that have the potential to help millions escape the prison of poverty. That is a great achievement. But now we face the difficult task of making our governments turn their promises in to the actions that will save millions of lives…Don’t give up now – let your politicians know you are watching every step they take. They made promises – now they must make them good.”

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is based on South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiography of the same name, which chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years spent in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. Idris Elba (PROMETHEUS) stars as Nelson Mandela, Naomie Harris (SKYFALL) stars as Winnie Mandela, with Justin Chadwick (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) directing. The film debuted at the 2013 Toronto International Film festival earlier this year and will be released theatrically by TWC on November 29^th.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes.  TWC releases took home eight 2012 Academy Awards®, the most wins in the studio’s history. The tally included Best Picture for Michel Hazanavicius’s THE ARTIST and Best Documentary Feature for TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay’s UNDEFEATED. THE ARTIST brought TWC its second consecutive Best Picture statuette following the 2011 win for Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; 1408; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; SUBMARINE; DIRTY GIRL; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; SARAH’S KEY; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; THE IRON LADY; W.E.; CORIOLANUS; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; BULLY; THE INTOUCHABLES; LAWLESS; KILLING THEM SOFTLY; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; QUARTET; ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH; DARK SKIES; THE SAPPHIRES; SCARY MOVIE 5; and KON-TIKI. Currently in release are UNFINISHED SONG and FRUITVALE STATION, LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER, THE GRANDMASTER and SALINGER. Upcoming releases include 12-12-12, PHILOMENA, MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM and AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY.

TWC is active in television production, led by former Miramax Films President of Production Meryl Poster. TWC is the studio behind such hit television series as the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series PROJECT RUNWAY and its spin-off series PROJECT RUNWAY ALL STARS and PROJECT ACCESSORY; the VH1 reality series MOB WIVES and its spin-off series MOB WIVES CHICAGO and BIG ANG; and the critically acclaimed scripted HBO comedy/crime series THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY which also received a Peabody Award. The company is in production on the upcoming TLC series WELCOME TO MYRTLE MANOR, the A&E series RODEO QUEENS, and the Lifetime reality competition show SUPERMARKET SUPERSTAR hosted by Stacy Keibler.  Among TWC’s other projects in development for television are the martial-arts epic MARCO POLO for Starz, an untitled private eye procedural for FX, and THE NANNY DIARIES developed by ABC with a pilot by Amy Sherman Palladino.