VIRTUAL GLOBAL BROADCAST (LIVE & ON DEMAND): Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵITED NATIONS
Saturday, 18 July 2026
9:00am EST (New York Time) / 3:00pm SAST (South Africa)
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Global YouTube:
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ WebTV:
¡°We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.¡±
~Nelson Mandela
On Saturday, 18 July 2026, on Nelson Mandela International Day, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Movie Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council is honoured to present a special conversation with lead actor Keenan Arrison on THE HEART IS A MUSCLE ¡ª South Africa's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, and winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Directed by Imran Hamdulay, the film is a portrait of inherited trauma, the slow courage of forgiveness, and what it means to be a father ¡ª themes that speak directly to the values at the heart of the United Nations: the protection of human rights, the pursuit of reconciliation, and the belief that vulnerability is not weakness, but strength. As the film reminds us ¡ª and as Mandela showed the world ¡ª it is in choosing to break the cycle, to forgive, and to rise, that our common humanity is most fully expressed.
Opening remarks will be delivered by H.E. Mr. Mxolisi Nkosi, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations; and Mbongiseni Buthelezi, and CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Cinema holds the unique power to illuminate the universal ideals enshrined by the United Nations ¡ª peace, human rights, cultural dignity, and equal rights for all. Founded at United Nations Headquarters by Brenda Vongova, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Movie Society is committed to championing the goals and values of the United Nations through the universal language of motion pictures.
OPENING MESSAGES
H.E. Mr. Mxolisi Nkosi
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations
Mbongiseni Buthelezi
CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
PRESENTATION
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Movie Society
of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council
Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director
Interview with Keenan Arrison
Lead Actor of THE HEART IS A MUSCLE
SPECIAL THANKS
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Department of Global Communications
Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations
Mbongiseni Buthelezi
CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Imran Hamdulay
Film Director of THE HEART IS A MUSCLE
Omar Soubra, Video Editor
Opening and Closing Music:
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council
Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director
VADIM PETROV (1932 - 2020) Rusk¨¦ evangelium (arr. for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber Music Society)
Hana Mundiya (Violin Solo), Rohan Mundiya (Violin I), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
