The studio on Friday confirmed the acquisition of North American rights to Amma Asante’s film that recently premiered in Toronto and will open the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday (October 5).

A United Kingdom

Fox Searchlight plans a February 2017 theatrical release on the David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike starrer after securing rights from Pathe UK on behalf of the filmmakers.

Pathé, BBC Films, the BFI and Ingenious Media financed the true story about the forbidden love between King Seretse Khama of Botswana and Ruth Williams, a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s as Apartheid was being introduced into South Africa. 

Guy Hibbert of Eye In The Sky fame wrote the screenplay.

Richard McCallum produced with Oyelowo, Brunson Green, Peter Heslop, Justin Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason.

Searchlight released Asante’s previous directorial outing Belle in the US in 2014.