Goodbye Bafana

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Goodbye Bafana
Image:Goodbye bafana.jpg Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Bille August
Starring	Dennis Haysbert Joseph Fiennes
Release date(s)	2007
Running time	140 min
Language	English Xhosa
IMDb profile

Goodbye Bafana is a 2007 drama film about the relationship between Nelson Mandela and James Gregory, his censor officer and prison guard, based on the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend by James Gregory.

Filming took place in the second half of 2006 in South Africa with Danish director Bille August. Nelson Mandela is played by Dennis Haysbert, James Gregory is played by Joseph Fiennes, and his wife by Diane Kruger.

On January 4, 2007, it was announced that the film would be in the main competition at the 2007 Berlinale, the international film festival in Berlin. The world premiere took place on the festival on February 11, 2007.

[edit] Controversy

The book's accuracy was denied by Mandela's longtime friend, the late Anthony Sampson. Sampson accused James Gregory, who died of cancer in 2003, of lying and violating Mandela's privacy in his work Mandela: the Authorised Biography. Sampson said that Gregory had rarely spoken to Mandela, but censored the letters sent to the prisoner and used this information to fabricate a close relationship with him. Sampson also claimed that other warders suspected Gregory of spying for the government, and that Mandela considered suing Gregory. ^[1]

The Making Of contains a video interview with Nelson Mandela where he speaks of James Gregory as follows:

He was one of the most refined warders. Well-informed and courteous with everybody. Soft spoken. Very good observations. I developed a lot of respect for him.^[2]