Cynthia Erivo and Thabo Rametsi are set to star as South African music legends Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela in The Road Home, a musical drama from Studiocanal and Flora Films.
Erivo, Rametsi and Guy Pearce have joined the cast of the film, which will be directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon. It is from an original screenplay by Michael Bronner, taken from a story by Bronner and South African writer Zakes Mda.
The film follows exiled South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela (Rametsi), who is caught between loyalties when the anti-apartheid movement led by his mentor and anti-apartheid advocate Archbishop Trevor Huddleston (Pearce) calls for a boycott for Hugh’s friend Paul Simon for breaking the United Nations cultural boycott of South Africa.
Masekela splits from his mentor and joins forces with fellow exile and long-time collaborator Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba (Erivo) after he sees music as a powerful tool in the struggle. They form the Graceland band to amplify South Africa’s voice to the world.
The Road Home explores the lives of Makeba and Masekela during the apartheid era and highlights the political and cultural conflicts during the 1986 Graceland tour. The film will feature music by Makeba, Masekela and Paul Simon.
StudioCanal is financing the film and will distribute it in South Africa, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand. Additional international sales will launch at the Cannes Film Festival in May through Palisades Park Pictures.
Filming is scheduled to begin in Cape Town in June 2026.
Veteran music producer Hilton Rosenthal, who worked with Paul Simon during the making of Graceland, will serve as co-producer. He has secured music rights to Simon’s work as well as songs by Makeba and Masekela and will produce new recordings for the film’s soundtrack, according to Variety.
The film is produced by Laura Bickford, Michael Bronner, Greg Yolen and Anant Singh.
Executive producers include Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern, Shana Eddy-Grouf, Fiona Druckenmiller, Rob Bath, the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, David Dison and Siphiwo Ralo.
Erivo shared her excitement on social media, writing, “I have had a Miriam Makeba-shaped space in my heart for aeons now, and the thought of bringing her to life this way is scary, a challenge.
“She is and was singular. I can only hope that with hard work, I can do her the justice that she so deserves. A legend, a storyteller, a healer. Mama Africa.”
In another, a recent video was posted on social media; Erivo dances to Makeba’s song, Pata Pata, with a journalist, and she recounts parts of Makeba’s life in exile, music, and marriage.
“Strangely enough, I’m studying her at the moment. I love her. She was activism through music. She had a crazy, interesting life, and she was very forward-thinking as an African woman,” she said.
She added, “I think she was divorced like four times. But she really wanted to live her life making music. And she resisted using her music.”