Cry Freedom

Following a news story depicting the demolition of a slum in East London in the south-east of the Cape Province in South Africa, liberal white South African journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) seeks more information about the incident and ventures off to meet the anti-Apartheid black activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington), a leading member of the Black Consciousness Movement. Biko has been officially banned by the Government of South Africa and is not permitted to leave his defined 'banning area' at King William's Town. Woods is opposed to Biko's banning, but remains critical of his political views. Biko invites Woods to visit a black township to see the impoverished conditions and to witness the effect of the Government-imposed restrictions, which make up the apartheid system. Woods begins to agree with Biko's desire for a South Africa where blacks have the same opportunities and freedoms as those enjoyed by the white population. As Woods comes to understand Biko's point of view, a friendship slowly develops between them.