A United Kingdom is a 2016biographicalromantic drama film directed byAmma Asante and written byGuy Hibbert, based on the true-life romance ofSeretse Khama, heir to the throne of theBangwato Tribe inSerowe – one of many tribes found in thenBechuanaland Protectorate – with his wifeRuth Williams Khama.^[7]David Oyelowo andRosamund Pike portray Seretse and Ruth, respectively.

A United Kingdom
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Amma Asante
Screenplay by	Guy Hibbert
Based on	Colour Bar bySusan Williams
Produced by	Brunson Green Charlie Mason Rick McCallum Cameron McCracken Justin Moore-Lewy David Oyelowo
Starring	David Oyelowo Rosamund Pike Terry Pheto Jack Davenport Tom Felton Abena Ayivor Vusi Kunene
Cinematography	Sam McCurdy
Edited by	Jonathan Amos Jon Gregory
Music by	Patrick Doyle
Production companies	Fox Searchlight Pictures BBC Films British Film Institute[1] Ingenious Media Pathé[2][3]
Distributed by	20th Century Fox (United Kingdom) Pathé Distribution (France) Fox Searchlight Pictures (United States)[4]
Release dates	9 September 2016 (2016-09-09) (TIFF) 25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) (United Kingdom) 10 February 2017 (2017-02-10) (United States)
Running time	111 minutes[5]
Countries	Czech Republic[1] France[1] United Kingdom[1] United States[1]
Languages	English Tswana
Budget	$14 million[6]
Box office	$14.4 million[4]

It was screened at the2016 Toronto International Film Festival,^[8] and was the opening film at the 60thLondon Film Festival.^[9]

The film is based on the true story of the heir to the throne ofBechuanaland,Seretse Khama of theBamangwato people, who studied law in London immediately afterWorld War II. There he meets an Englishwoman,Ruth Williams, whom he eventually marries in 1948, despite the protests of both their families and opposition from theBritish government, which is concerned about relations withSouth Africa and the stability of the entire region of southern Africa. TheNational Party government in South Africa fears that the marriage of a black king to a white woman in neighbouring Bechuanaland will inspire unrest, as it was in the process of making such a marriageillegal, and demands that the British government prevents the marriage, as do the governments ofSouth West Africa andRhodesia.

Khama's uncle, the Regent, also asks Khama to end his marriage and instead marry a Bamangwato princess, which Khama rejects. The British administrators use the dispute to argue that the marriage is causing unrest. Seretse discovers that the British have allowed a US mining corporation to prospect for precious stones, and is eager to make sure that, if anything is found, the exploitation of the country's resources should solely be done by the people of Bechuanaland.

Khama wants his people's support and wins their backing, upon which the British government decides to exile him. Meanwhile, Ruth gives birth to their baby and becomes accepted by the local people by "walking the road with them". When the British want to replace the king with an administrator, the tribe refuses to convene the necessary meeting. The British prime minister,Clement Attlee, tells backbencherTony Benn that Britain needs South Africa's gold and destroying the Khamas' marriage is a price worth paying. Meanwhile, diamonds are found in Bechuanaland and Khama ensures the British government acknowledges their sovereign ownership by theBechuana people.

Winston Churchill promises, if elected, to lift Khama's exile term of five years, but instead makes it permanent. However, powerful people in London and the US government support Khama's case. Meanwhile,apartheid develops in South Africa and begins to overshadow Bechuanaland as well. Eventually, with the help of pressure from local people, he is allowed to return to Bechuanaland and negotiates itsindependence from the British. Khama shows his uncle a leaked British government document showing he is qualified to be king, and that British government hostility is based only on opposition from South Africa. A postscript reveals that Khama was elected as the first president of present-dayBotswana, thattheir son becomes the country's fourth electedpresident in 2008 and that Ruth and Khama are buried together on a hilltop overlookingSerowe village, where they had lived for the remainder of their lives.

• David Oyelowo asSeretse Khama
• Rosamund Pike asRuth Williams Khama
• Terry Pheto as Naledi Khama, Seretse's younger sister
• Vusi Kunene asTshekedi Khama, Seretse's uncle, who is Regent of the Bangwato Kingdom
• Abena Ayivor as Ella Khama, Tshekedi's wife and Seretse's aunt
• Anton Lesser asClement Attlee,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Jack Davenport as Alistair Canning, the British government representative in Southern Africa
• Jack Lowden asTony Benn
• Nicholas Rowe asFenner Brockway
• Tom Felton as Rufus Lancaster
• Charlotte Hope as Olivia Lancaster
• Nicholas Lyndhurst as George Williams, Ruth's father
• Anastasia Hille as Dot Williams, Ruth's mother
• Laura Carmichael as Muriel Williams-Sanderson, Ruth's sister
• Jessica Oyelowo as Lady Lilly Canning

Pike joined the cast in May 2015, withAsante joining shortly afterwards.^[10] In September 2015, Asante revealed that shooting would be split betweenBotswana andLondon, and that it would begin in October in preparation for a 2016 release coinciding with the 50th anniversary of independence in Botswana.^[11]

In October 2015,Jack Davenport andTom Felton joined the cast.^[12] In November 2015, some filming took place aroundHyde Park/Kensington Gardens includingImperial College Union. Thecinematographer was Sam McCurdy and theproduction designer wasSimon Bowles.^{[citation needed]}

Amma Asante is a British director, screenwriter, and former actress, born on 13 September 1969, in London, England. She grew up in a working-class family of Ghanaian and British descent. Asante started her career as a child actress, starring in the BBC TV series Grange Hill. Later, she transitioned into writing and directing. Asante's debut feature film,A Way of Life (2004), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award for best debut by a British filmmaker. She gained further critical acclaim for her work on the period dramasBelle (2013) andA United Kingdom (2016). Asante has also directed episodes of TV series such asThe Handmaid's Tale,Mrs America, andLovecraft Country. In 2017, she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to film. Asante is known for her focus on exploring themes of identity, race, and politics in her works.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2016.^[13] It will also screen at the BFI London Film Festival on 6 October 2016.^[14][15] Shortly after,Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.^[16]

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2016.^[17] It was scheduled to be released in the United States on 17 February 2017,^[18] but was pushed up to 10 February.^[19]

A United Kingdom grossed $3,902,185 in the United States and Canada and $10,557,145 in other countries for a worldwide total of $14,459,330, against a production budget of $14,000,000.

Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted, solidly crafted, and all-around worthy,A United Kingdom presents an absorbing look at a singular true-life love story."^[20] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[21]

Glen Kenny, inThe New York Times, described the filmmaking as "staid" but with "an acute sense of pace". He was complimentary about the performances and described Oyelowo's as "remarkable, genuinely riveting work".^[22] InTime Out, Tom Huddleston wrote that "David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike are strong in this compelling and moving, if basic, true-life tale" but that the film "is just a little too cosy and sentimental for its own good."^[23]

The film was nominated for several awards, winning many. At the 2016 BFI London Film Festival, it won the Festival's Best Film award. The film also received a nomination for Best British Film at the 70th British Academy Film Awards. At the 10th African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards, the film won the award for Best World Cinema. It was also nominated for Best International Independent Film at the 21st British Independent Film Awards. Overall, "A United Kingdom" was well-received by critics and audiences alike.

• A United Kingdom atIMDb
• A United KingdomArchived 17 September 2017 at theWayback Machine on The Plus Paper
• A United Kingdom vs True Story of Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams at HistoryvsHollywood