12 Years a Slave

A closer look at the story

12 Years a Slave tells a true story set in the United States before the Civil War. Solomon Northup is a free black man living with his family in New York, a man devoted to music who treasures the freedom to live as he chooses. One day he meets men who offer him work as a musician, and he travels to Washington to take the job. There his world collapses: he is kidnapped and sold as a slave to labour on a plantation in the South. Everything he has done to protect his liberty comes to nothing, and his life turns into a nightmare. In this hell Solomon encounters brutality, violence and humiliation, but also moments of unexpected kindness. His struggle is no longer only about staying alive; it is also about holding on to his dignity. Steve McQueen directed this 134-minute historical drama from 2013, which John Ridley adapted from Solomon Northup's own memoir. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon, with Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul Dano in the cast. Its scenes of violence make it suitable for mature audiences.