Cry Freedom (1987) 

 

Release date: November 6, 1987

Director: Richard Attenborough

Writer(s): John Briley (screenplay), Donald Woods (books)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Josette Simon

Estimated budget: $29 million

U.S. Box office: $5,899,797

 

Set in apartheid-torn South Africa. Donald Woods is the editor of the East London Daily Express and Steve Biko is a young black leader struggling to improve life in the townships. The two form an unlikely friendship but when Biko is taken into police custody and then murdered, Woods is placed under house arrest. Fearing for his family's safety, he decides to smuggle them over the border.