Almaty Kazakhstan, April 27: Everyone has a memorable moment or special date that marked their political lives. For me, it was April 27, 1994, the day of South Africa’s first democratic election when a disenfranchised majority chose Nelson Mandela as its new president. To those that fought so many years against apartheid, it was a political miracle, seen almost a biblical moment ushering in a new Rainbow nation.

I had a front row seat 14 years ago inside the Mandela campaign, making an insider film that became Countdown to Freedom: The Ten Days that Changed South Africa. It was euphoric, watching so many people who had been oppressed for so long patiently waiting in line to vote, some for hours. They enthusiastically filled out paper ballots, and before the counting was stopped — a decision made by Mandela’s own party, the ANC, so that the whites would not feel totally dominated — 63 % chose the icon that had been a prisoner as their