Apple held its first showing today of Emancipation, the Antoine Fuqua-directed thriller that stars Will Smith an enslaved man who, after recovering from a whipping that nearly killed him, braved the swamps of Louisiana armed with only his wits, to escape cold-blooded slave hunters and be free.
Both Smith and Fuqua made their first public comments about the film in a follow-up discussion following this afternoon’s private screening, held during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 51st Annual Legislative Conference in DC.
Apple hasn’t set a date, but this is the most solid indication that the film will arrive for awards season, a much rougher road because of Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the last Oscars.
The film has held a high profile since Apple won the rights to make it in a record-breaking auction. Scripted by William N. Collage, Emancipation was inspired by 1863 photographs taken of Peter, when the formerly enslaved man joined the Union Army in hopes of finding his family.
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