12 YEARS A SLAVE DAZZLES AT FILM FESTIVALS AS IT GENERATES OSCAR BUZZ STORY BY W. H. BOURNE • PHOTOS BY FRANCOIS DUHAMEL AND JAAP BUTENDIJK
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fter receiving rave reviews at Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, award-winning director Steve McQueen’s latest film, 12 Years a Slave, will make its Louisiana premiere opening night at New Orleans Film Festival. Shot in Louisiana, McQueen’s gripping tale of a free man of color who is kidnapped and enslaved is based on the true story of Solomon Northup and the book he wrote about surviving the ordeal.
“We had been talking to Steve McQueen,” says Dede Gardner, producer of 12 Years a Slave. “We were great admirers of his work, and he asked us fairly early on why there hadn’t been more movies that addressed American slavery, in particular movies that surveyed the entire institution rather than tell a singular story or event.” In addition to producing, Gardner is president of Plan B Entertainment and oversees Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt uses a dolly to capture a scene with Lupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave.
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LOUISIANA FILM & VIDEO MAGAZINE
ISSUE FIVE 2013
their slate. Plan B Entertainment is Brad Pitt’s company, which is one of several production companies involved in 12 Years a Slave. Plan B has had an interesting and diverse slate with recent offerings ranging from Tree of Life to Kick-Ass to World War Z to 12 Years a Slave. “I would think the commonality (of the slate) is simple,” explains Gardner. “Is it a story that we love and feel is original, a story that hasn’t been told? Is it a filmmaker that we
admire, and we want to help get their movie made and to protect that movie and its original intention from the point of its inception to its release? Can we help the project by letting its intention stay pure throughout and not get corrupted by a process that often times is corrupting? That truly is what’s behind everything we do and what it does, of course, also affords a great deal of diversity… I think our endeavor was clear from the outset and that it was all about protecting Steve and his vision and doing whatever we could to facilitate that.” 12 Years a Slave is a crown jewel to the Plan B slate. The film is sure to get Oscar nominations for the outstanding performances, craft and attention to detail used to tell this riveting true story. “I have been working with Steve McQueen for almost 12 years now,” says cinematogra-