Out of Africa Entertainment, Blue Ice Films and Left Bank Pictures have begun development on Madiba, a landmark six-part miniseries that spotlights the life of Nelson Mandela. The production is currently in discussion with a short list of high-profile directors.

Producers include Out of Africa Entertainment”s Lance Samuels and Kweku Mandela (Lucky, Africa United, The Bang Bang Club), Blue Ice Films” Steven Silver (Force of Nature, The Bang Bang Club) and Neil Tabatznik (The Bang Bang Club, Shake Hands With the Devil) and Left Bank Pictures” Andy Harries (The Queen, The Lady, The Damned United) and Marigo Kehoe (The Queen, The Damned United). Principal photography is scheduled to begin this year, shooting on location in South Africa.

The mini-series, whose title Madiba reflects the tribal clan name by which Mandela has often been known, will take a broad view of the inner passions and outside forces that guided him: from his little-examined relationship with his mother and her impact on his character, to his engagement with political activism, to his imprisonment, his rise within the ANC and Nobel Peace Prize win, and his watershed election as president of South Africa. Producer Kweku Mandela said that Madiba will not be yet another project that paints his grandfather as Mandela the saint, but which seeks to unravel Mandela the man.

Emmy/BAFTA winner Nigel Williams is writing the script.