2024 - 12 years a slave: what true story is this film based on?

On the occasion of the screening of the film 12 years a slave on Sunday January 9, 2022, from 8:55 p.m. on Arte, Télé Star unveils the real story behind this feature film.

Released in theaters in 2014, the film titled12 Years a Slave was a huge critical success, as it won the Golden Globe as well as the Oscar for Best Picture. French spectators, who were almost 1.7 million to have gone to see this film in the dark rooms, will be able to discover, or rediscover, this feature film since it will be rebroadcast on Sunday January 9, 2022, from 8:55 pm on the Franco-German channel Arte. Worn by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch, this film is directly inspired by the memories of Solomon Northup, embodied byChiwetel Ejiofor on the screen, who was kidnapped as a free man, and subjected to slavery for 12 long years.

Born free in 1808 in New York State,Solomon Northup was the son of a freed slave. He made a living as a farmer and violinist, and also owned a property in Hebron, New York. His life changed in 1841 when he was kidnapped by slave traders who won him over with a job offer as a violinist. While accompanying his supposed employers to Washington, the latter drug him and sell him as a slave. It was then sent to New Orleans where it was sold to a plantation owner in Louisiana. For 12 long years, it is held in the Red River region by several owners.

12 Years a Slave: an endless ordeal for Solomon Northup

During this period, Solomon Northup repeatedly tries to escape. He’s also trying to get messages across. He will eventually manage to get news from his family, who have contacted friends, and rallied New York Governor Washington Hunt to his cause. He will finally be released in 1853 and will return to his relatives.. Free again, Solomon Northup sued the slave traffickers who kidnapped him in Washington, but lost the case in a local court. In fact, as a black man, District of Columbia law prohibited him from testifying against white men. After having published his memoirs, which became a bestseller, Solomon Northup disappeared in circumstances still unknown to this day after 1857.

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2/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

3/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

4/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

5/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

6/18 –

MICHAEL FASSBENDER AND SARAH PAULSON
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
SARAH PAULSON

7/18 –

MICHAEL FASSBENDER AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

8/18 –

LUPITA NYONG’O AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
LUPITA NYONG’O
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

9/18 –

SARAH PAULSON AND MICHAEL FASSBENDER
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
SARAH PAULSON
MICHAEL FASSBENDER

10/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AND PAUL DANO
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
PAUL DANO

11/18 –

CAMERON ZEIGLER, CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, QUVENZHANE WALLIS AND KELSEY SCOTT
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CAMERON ZEIGLER
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
QUVENZHANE WALLIS
KELSEY SCOTT

12/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AND PAUL GIAMATTI
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
PAUL GIAMATTI

13/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

14/18 –

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
DWIGHT HENRY
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

15/18 –

MICHAEL FASSBENDER, LUPITA NYONG’O AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE (TWELVE YEARS IN SLAVE)
BY STEVE MAC QUEEN
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
LUPITA NYONG’O
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR