Cry Freedom was set on Earth.
Africa is the world 's second-largest and second-most-populous continent . At about 30.3 million km2 ( 11.7 million square miles ) including adjacent islands , it covers 6 % of Earth 's total surface area and 20.4 % of its total land area . Cry Freedom is a 1987 British epic drama film directed by Richard Attenborough , set in late-1970s apartheid era South Africa . South Africa , officially the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ) , is the southernmost country in Africa . It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere .