Nelson Mandela was born 100 years ago. The man many South Africans call the father of their country was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid regime. Later he was sworn in as the first freely elected president of a democratic South Africa. His friend Desmond Tutu once called Mandela "God's gift to our nation". The world remembers this remarkable man as a symbol of humanity and reconciliation. The 'grand old man' of Africa, born on 18 July 1918, remains a legendary figure with extraordinary charisma. The "Mandela phenomenon" has been the subject of books and films, and it continues to exert a huge fascination. It was no coincidence that Nelson Mandela's father gave him the name Rolihlahla, the troublemaker. It was women who first began to tame the wild young man. Then there was the 27-year prison sentence that, as Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu said, "did not embitter Nelson Mandela in the fight for freedom, but ennobled him." But the price of liberation from the ruthless apartheid state was high: isolation, torture, betrayal. The regime tried to break Mandela by targeting his most precious asset, his wife Winnie and their two daughters. Later, Mandela raised fabulous sums of money as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a former president and the face of numerous charities. Scandals overshadowed the hero's reputation; he was embroiled in allegations of embezzlement, counterfeiting and fraud amounting to millions. But in spite of all the many unanswered questions, Mandela, who died on 5 December 2013, is still revered by his compatriots. "Nelson Mandela - A Life for Liberty" was made with the help of the former leader's friends. The result is a highly personal portrait that shows how triumphs and tragedies shaped the life of this historic figure and how much the diverse and divided country of South Africa owes to the 'Father of the Nation'.
When Walt Disney visited Carcassonne, he was so enchanted by this medieval fortress town that he took it as a template for his film "Snow White." In fact, Carcassonne with its narrow streets is still the epitome of a medieval stronghold. Our film tells the history of the city from the perspective of Lady Carcas, a probably mythical figure who allegedly gave it its name. When the Emperor Charlemagne pulled his forces back from the city after an unsuccessful siege, Carcas - the widow of the Moorish king who had been killed in the fighting - ordered the city's bells to be rung behind the parting troops in order to persuade them to return and make peace. One of Charlemagne's squires gave him the news "Carcas rings" - "Carcas sonne" - hence Carcassonne. Prior to this, Lady Carcas had, however, taken the very last pig left after the five-year siege and stuffed it with the last grain in the city and hurled the fattened animal at the Emperor's feet. The trick led Charlemagne to conclude that the city had apparently inexhaustible food reserves and that continuing the siege of the city was pointless. Iberian Celts founded the city, which is located between Montpellier and Toulouse in the south of France, in the 6th Century BC. The Romans turned the hill into a fortress by building a protective wall. The city was occupied by the Visigoths in the 5th Century AD and by the Arabs in the 8th Century: Pippin the Short finally drove them out in 759. In the 12th Century, Count Trencavel built a castle on the old Roman walls at the highest point of the hill. Carcassonne became a central pillar in the defenses on France's border with Aragon. In the Mid-13th Century, a second exterior wall was built to reinforce the old one.
Nelson Mandela was born 100 years ago. The man many South Africans call the father of their country was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid regime. Later he was sworn in as the first freely elected president of a democratic South Africa. His friend Desmond Tutu once called Mandela "God's gift to our nation". The world remembers this remarkable man as a symbol of humanity and reconciliation. The 'grand old man' of Africa, born on 18 July 1918, remains a legendary figure with extraordinary charisma. The "Mandela phenomenon" has been the subject of books and films, and it continues to exert a huge fascination. It was no coincidence that Nelson Mandela's father gave him the name Rolihlahla, the troublemaker. It was women who first began to tame the wild young man. Then there was the 27-year prison sentence that, as Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu said, "did not embitter Nelson Mandela in the fight for freedom, but ennobled him." But the price of liberation from the ruthless apartheid state was high: isolation, torture, betrayal. The regime tried to break Mandela by targeting his most precious asset, his wife Winnie and their two daughters. Later, Mandela raised fabulous sums of money as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a former president and the face of numerous charities. Scandals overshadowed the hero's reputation; he was embroiled in allegations of embezzlement, counterfeiting and fraud amounting to millions. But in spite of all the many unanswered questions, Mandela, who died on 5 December 2013, is still revered by his compatriots. "Nelson Mandela - A Life for Liberty" was made with the help of the former leader's friends. The result is a highly personal portrait that shows how triumphs and tragedies shaped the life of this historic figure and how much the diverse and divided country of South Africa owes to the 'Father of the Nation'.