Director Amma Asante and NAACP award-winning actor David Oyelowo are old friends. Their camaraderie was palpable when the pair gathered for a press luncheon in mid-January at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York City to promote the release of "A United Kingdom," which hits select theaters on Friday.
Based on the true story and novel "Colour Bar: A United Kingdom" by Susan Williams, the film follows Seretse Khama (played by Oyelowo), the former prince of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), and his English wife, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), as they fight for their controversial union -- as a black man and white woman -- in the late the 1940s.
On screen, their love story unfolds in postcolonial South Africa, where interracial relationships were non-existent. However, the heart prevailed, and the two went on to marry. By 1966, Botswana had gained its independence from the British, and Khama served as the president with Ruth acting as the republic's inaugural first lady.
Oyelowo, 40, had been familiar with this story. And he believed the only director who would truly understand the nuance, the emotion and raw power of this real-life fight for love, was Asante.
The London-raised director, who is of Ghanaian decent, is best known for her work on the 2013 film "Belle," which delved into the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), an illegitimate mixed-race daughter of an enslaved African woman and a British navy captain. These often uncomfortable storylines must be handled with care, and Asanta, 47, was up for the challenge.
Here, the two have a candid discussion on modern day racial division, navigating Hollywood as a woman of color, and why these stories matter.
Why this story, and why now?
David Oyelowo: I am married to a white woman myself, but that wasn't the reason I pursued this story. However, being a man of African descent and living in Nigeria for seven years, and being surrounding by a community of self-possessed black men -- I rarely saw that image on film.
In Seretse, I saw a sense of self-possession that I recognized, and felt we needed to show that on film. And as a lover of love, I really felt the power of their relationship. I very rarely see true love depicted in film. These two people just fell in love, and it was the world that had a problem with it.
At the center of it all, here is this king, who loves his people and is opposed to belittling or degrading them. That just really spoke to me. And yes, being in an interracial relationship is personal to me. Though when I met my wife, that was the last thing on my mind. I fell in love with her when I was 18, and she was 17. Actually, I had just gotten engaged to my wife when I first met and worked with Amma, and we've been married for nearly 18 years now.
Amma Asante: David and I worked together on the BBC TV series "Brothers and Sisters" [in the late 1990s]. I was one of the head writers, and he was a lead on the show. It was a groundbreaking series in the U.K., as it had 36 characters of color. We always kept in touch, and timing was just perfect for us to work together again. "Belle" had just been out, and David had received critical acclaim for his work in "Selma," and Rosamund Pike, who plays his wife, had finished "Gone Girl."
So David picked up the phone and said 'I read [Susan Williams'] book many years ago, and I think this is the right time, and I think you're the right director.' And can I be honest -- he added 'and I need you. I'm a lone black voice on this project and I needed someone who is going to understand how to navigate this.' Then my interest was piqued. Here was my opportunity to tell a story of the places that raised me; both Africa and Europe.
I wanted to ensure that this movie reflected me as a filmmaker, so intersectionality had to come into it. I wanted to ensure that the voice of black females came into the story. Especially, when the film explores the life of a white woman who goes back to Africa to become a queen of black women.
I was worried about convincing women of color, in respect to Ruth and Seretse's love. David and I were very sensitive about the Ruth character; we did not want her to be seen as a white savior. In the film, you'll see how the black women in the village truly had the power, Ruth needed them as the outsider. She needed their blessings to succeed.
Creating opportunity for women of color in Hollywood
DO: I feel so strongly about who gets to tell these stories. If there was a white male director at the helm of this film, we wouldn't be able to have a conversation as nuanced as this. We wouldn't see the black female perspective in this movie, which is key. We all go to the movies to see ourselves, if you don't see yourself three-dimensionally on screen, truthfully you are going to disengage with the story. And it's not that a white male perspective is irrelevant, it's just that we've already seen so much of it.
Also, there was a startling statistic recently released [from San Diego State University's Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film]; women directed just 7 percent of 2016's top-grossing films. That's beyond disgraceful. A female voice adds so much heft to a story of this nature.
So when Amma says its timing, it is. But, she is the right person to tell this story.
AA: The perspectives you see on film, is that which feels natural to the person creating it. We are at a turning point, these stories won't be made easily, but there is momentum for our voices now. We can't accept no for an answer.
Establishing progress beyond film
DO: I'm very passionate about female empowerment. I have a scholarship in Nigeria for girls that were impacted by Boko Haram. That intersects with what I'm trying to do with female voices in film. I have a real problem with the objectification of women in film. As a man, who is a father to three sons, I want to raise men who truly respect women. And for my daughter, I worry that a man is going to be cajoled by the media to treat her in a negative manner. It starts at home. My children understand that respecting women is a priority.
AA: Right now, my goal is to tell our stories. I keep that hope. I keep that fight.
This conversation has been edited for length.