Rugby has long been viewed in South Africa as a game for the white population, and the country’s success in the sport has been a true source of Afrikaner pride. When the 50-year-old policies and entrenched injustices of apartheid were finally overthrown in 1994, Nelson Mandela’s new government began rebuilding a nation badly in need of racial unity. So the world was watching when South Africa played host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Though they had only one non-white player, the South African Springboks gained supporters of all colors as they made an improbable run into the final match where they beat the heavily favored New Zealand team. When Mandela himself marched to the center of the pitch cloaked in a Springbok jersey and shook hands with the captain of the South African team, two nations became one. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and director Cliff Bestall will tell the emotional story of that cornerstone moment and what it meant to South Africa’s healing process.

Personal Statement

Nelson Mandela is a hero of mine. His personal story has inspired millions across the globe to take action and make our world a better place. While many know that Mandela was born into a pre-apartheid South Africa, survived decades of imprisonment only to emerge as the President of South Africa, not everyone knows the story behind how Mandela ultimately re-united the nation of South Africa.

I am passionate about the 1995 Rugby World Cup and its effect on South Africa as a turning point in the nation’s history. We will chronicle how Mandela used rugby to heal a deeply divided nation when traditional politics failed. Put simply, sport transformed a country and undoubtedly saved lives. As Mandela said best, “Sport has the ability to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people that little else has . . . It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers.”

At the conclusion of the World Cup, celebrations in the streets spoke to the start of reconciliation that many in South Africa feared would never happen. The Springboks became the country’s team—a country newly united, marching into the 21st century.

Clifford Bestall and Morgan Freeman Bio

Clifford Bestall has built an wide international reputation as a director of award winning socio-political and wild-life documentaries.

Since the late 80’s, during the final phase in the struggle against apartheid, he began shooting and directing long-form documentary films on what was heppening in the country for the BBC. In 2001, BBC Worldwide distributed Killers Don’t Cry which was screened by 84 broadcasters. It went on to win two Grierson Awards, made by the British Guild of Directors for the best documentary shown on British television.

In 1986 he had co-produced WGBH Frontline’s Apartheid’s People, which won a Peabody Award and directed the series The Long Walk of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela which was nominated for an Emmy. ETHIOPIA : a Journey which he produced and directed took the award for the Best Factual Moment on British television 2005. To date he has made no less than five films about Nelson Mandela. The 16th Man is his most recent and what he considers to be his best film about the great leader.


Morgan Freeman earned his first Academy Award nomination for his chilling performance as a homicidal pimp in the drama “Street Smart,” which also brought him the L.A., N.Y. and National Society of Film Critics Awards for best supporting actor of 1987, as well as an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination. The part of the pimp, Fast Black, was a far cry from his big screen debut as the genial character Afro in his film debut, the 1971 children’s adventure “Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow,” and it signaled the film world that one of its most versatile stars was on the rise. The 16-year span between those titles saw Freeman range from Shakespeare to an undercover policeman in “Eyewitness.” The next two decades would see him become one of Hollywood’s true luminaries.

Freeman earned his second Oscar nomination in 1989, this time as Best Actor, recreating his award-winning Broadway role in “Driving Miss Daisy.” He garnered his third Academy Award nomination playing opposite Tim Robbins in the critically praised 1994 hit “The Shawshank Redemption.” His fourth nomination for Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2005.

The Memphis-born actor began his career on New York stages in the early 1960s, following a stint as a mechanic in the Air Force. A decade later, he became a nationally known television personality when he created the popular character Easy Reader on the popular children’s show, “The Electric Company.” Throughout the 1970s, he continued his work on stage, winning the Drama Desk Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and receiving a Tony Award Nomination for his outstanding performance in “The Mighty Gents” in 1978. He also won an Obie Award for his portrayal of Shakespearean anti-hero, Coriolanus, at the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1984, Morgan won another Obie for his role as The Messenger in the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music production of Lee Breuer’s Gospel at Colonus. In 1985, he was winner of the Drama-Logue Award for the same role.

The part of Hoke Coleburn in Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Driving Miss Daisy” brought him his third Obie Award. Freeman also appeared on stage as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Delacorte Theater with Tracey Ullman. Most recently, Freeman toplined Mike Nichols’ 2008 revival of The Country Girl opposite Francis McDormand and Peter Gallagher. In 1993, Freeman made his film directorial debut with “Bopha!,” starring Danny Glover and Alfre Woodard, and soon after formed Revelations Entertainment, a production company developing entertainment product in all existing and emerging media that “enlightens, inspires and glorifies the human experience.” Revelations credits include “Under Suspicion”, “Levity,” the Brad Silberling comedy “10 Items or Less,” Robert Benton’s “Feast of Love,” Mimi Leder’s “Thick as Thieves” and Pete Hewitt’s “Maiden Heist.” Revelations’ next film will be the Clint Eastwood directed film, “The Human Factor” which will see Mr. Freeman play Nelson Mandela.

Mr. Freeman’s other film-acting credits include: “Brubaker,” “Harry & Sons,” “Teachers,” “Marie,” “That Was Then, This Is Now,” “Clean & Sober,” “Johnny Handsome,” the multiple award-winning “Glory,” “Chain Reaction,” “Kiss the Girls,” the Steven Spielberg production, “Amistad,” “Hard Rain,” “Deep Impact,” “Nurse Betty,” “Along Came a Spider,” “High Crimes,” “The Sum of All Fears” and Warner Bros’ “Dreamcatcher” and “The Big Bounce.” Other recent films include Luc Besson’s “Unleashed,” Robert Redford’s “An Unfinished Life,” “Batman Begins” and narration on the Academy Award-winning documentary “March of The Penguins,” “Lucky Number Slevin,” with Bruce Willis and Josh Hartnett, the comedy sequel “Evan Almighty,” Ben Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone,” “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Common, and the blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”