---
name: "Donald Woods"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/donald-woods-72564"
fi1m_id: "donald-woods-72564"
imdb_id: "nm0940581"
tmdb_id: 72564
wikidata_id: "Q1240511"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "15 December 1933"
died: "19 August 2001"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T02:11:02.715876+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Donald Woods

## Identity

Donald Woods

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/donald-woods-72564
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** donald-woods-72564
- **IMDb ID:** nm0940581
- **TMDB ID:** 72564
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1240511
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Woods, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1240511, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940581/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/72564

Writer. Born 15 December 1933 in Hobeni, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Died 19 August 2001.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 15 December 1933, Hobeni, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- **Died:** 19 August 2001
- **Also known as:** Donald James Woods, Donald J. Woods
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Woods, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1240511, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940581/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/72564

## Biography

Donald Woods was a South African journalist and writer. Born on 15 December 1933 in Hobeni, Eastern Cape, he studied law before entering journalism. He became editor of the Daily Dispatch in East London in 1965 and maintained an editorial stance critical of apartheid.

Woods befriended anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko and wrote books including *Biko* (1978) and his autobiography *Asking for Trouble* (1981). These formed the basis for the film *Cry Freedom* (1987), on which he also served as principal consultant. After being banned by the South African government, he escaped into exile in Britain in 1978, where he continued campaigning against apartheid and addressed the UN Security Council. He was awarded the CBE in 2000. Woods also contributed to the film *Tongues Untied* (1989). He died on 19 August 2001 in London.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, criterion.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Tongues Untied* (1990), Fi1m 82, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/tongues-untied.md)

## Complete filmography (2)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Tongues Untied* (1990), Writer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/tongues-untied.md)
- *Cry Freedom* (1987), Novel

## Gallery

- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Zuidafrikaan Donald Woods op Schiphol in verband met Nederlandse verta (1978)](https://film.one/media/person/3928703/gallery-9fad956b6d52.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Zuidafrikaan Donald Woods op Schiphol in verband met Nederlandse verta (1978) — Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Zuidafrikaan_Donald_Woods_op_Schiphol_in_verband_met_Nederlandse_vertaling_van_z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8038.jpg/1280px-Zuidafrikaan_Donald_Woods_op_Schiphol_in_verband_met_Nederlandse_vertaling_van_z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8038.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Zuidafrikaan Donald Woods op Schiphol in verband met Nederlandse verta (1978)](https://film.one/media/person/3928703/gallery-fb0c1bb02a00.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Zuidafrikaan Donald Woods op Schiphol in verband met Nederlandse verta (1978) — Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Zuidafrikaan_Donald_Woods_op_Schiphol_in_verband_met_Nederlandse_vertaling_van_z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8037_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Zuidafrikaan_Donald_Woods_op_Schiphol_in_verband_met_Nederlandse_vertaling_van_z%2C_Bestanddeelnr_929-8037_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Conscience-in-Media Award 1978: Conscience-in-Media Award (won)
- World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award 1978: World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/donald-woods-72564