Tutu Documentary Set for US Cinemas on December 18

Freestyle Releasing plans to open Tutu in US cinemas on December 18, according to Deadline. The film, a documentary about the South African archbishop Desmond Tutu, opens in UK cinemas a week earlier, on December 11.

Sam Pollard directed the film. Tutu was a leading voice against apartheid, the system of racial segregation that ruled South Africa for decades, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. The documentary takes his story as its subject.

The film had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. There it won the Cinema for Peace Award, and it also earned a Special Mention for the Documentary Award, a commendation given below the festival's top documentary prize.

The film draws on two kinds of material. According to the Berlinale programme, it includes previously unpublished archive footage. It also presents first-hand accounts from people who walked with Tutu, giving the film direct voices from those who worked alongside him.

Festival premieres are often the first step in a long road to cinemas. A film can wait many months between its debut and its release, and distributors pick dates to suit their plans. This film's route runs from Berlin in February to the UK in December and the United States a week later.

December is a busy month at the cinema. Studios fill the screens with large titles before the holidays, so a smaller film has to find its audience among them. Freestyle has not, in the reporting so far, said how many screens the film will open on.

For viewers, the immediate question is where to see it. Both dates fall in the final weeks of the year, so anyone interested can plan a trip to the cinema well ahead.