Organisers have announced the second round of featured speakers at the festival in Austin, Texas.
Daniels is best known for The Butler, Precious: Based On The Novel By Sapphire and the hit TV series Empire. His new television series, Star, will premiere on Fox early next year.
Featured speakers include Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, academic Kate Crawford, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford and car technology expert and journalist Doug Newcomb, author Peggy Orenstein, music supervisor Randall Poster and businessman and engineer Vivek Ranadivé.
The Featured session, Product Mavericks: Top Tips from Women Who Build, will give audiences a chance to hear from Merci Grace, who leads the growth team at Slack, Hillary For America Cto Stephanie Hannon, Lyft vp of product Tali Rapaport, and director of product at Facebook, Fidji Simo.
“The SXSW Conference is designed to give creatives the tools they need to achieve their goals, and what better way than bringing together a diverse...
Daniels is best known for The Butler, Precious: Based On The Novel By Sapphire and the hit TV series Empire. His new television series, Star, will premiere on Fox early next year.
Featured speakers include Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, academic Kate Crawford, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford and car technology expert and journalist Doug Newcomb, author Peggy Orenstein, music supervisor Randall Poster and businessman and engineer Vivek Ranadivé.
The Featured session, Product Mavericks: Top Tips from Women Who Build, will give audiences a chance to hear from Merci Grace, who leads the growth team at Slack, Hillary For America Cto Stephanie Hannon, Lyft vp of product Tali Rapaport, and director of product at Facebook, Fidji Simo.
“The SXSW Conference is designed to give creatives the tools they need to achieve their goals, and what better way than bringing together a diverse...
- 9/6/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Today, South by Southwest has announced its second wave of Keynote and Featured speakers for its 2017 event. The Film Keynote this year is Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels, best known for his films “Precious,” “The Butler,” and the hit Fox TV series “Empire.” The two other previously announced Keynote speakers are Jill Soloway, creator of Amazon series “Transparent,” and Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of Crispr-Cas9, a groundbreaking new technology for editing genes.
Read More: South By Southwest Announces Select Speakers For 2017
“We are particularly excited about Lee Daniels as Film Keynote for his unparalleled talent, passion, continued experimentation, and career evolution,” says Janet Pierson, Head of Film. “He’s been the driving force behind so much extraordinary work in a number of ways. His artistic leaps and risk-taking are exactly what we love to celebrate at SXSW.”
The other 2017 Featured speakers are from many fields, including tech, music, film, television, business, and journalism.
Read More: South By Southwest Announces Select Speakers For 2017
“We are particularly excited about Lee Daniels as Film Keynote for his unparalleled talent, passion, continued experimentation, and career evolution,” says Janet Pierson, Head of Film. “He’s been the driving force behind so much extraordinary work in a number of ways. His artistic leaps and risk-taking are exactly what we love to celebrate at SXSW.”
The other 2017 Featured speakers are from many fields, including tech, music, film, television, business, and journalism.
- 9/6/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The top coin getter (an impressive quarter of a million dollars) from last year’s The MacArthur Foundation grants, we’re thinking our third time at predicting this among the line-up will be a charm. As is the case with most docus, the production phase can be a lengthy and difficult to determine one, but we’re thinking this extra time will help shake the foundations of Park City. As we mentioned before, Yance Ford’s Strong Island has received all-round support from docu groups including Cinereach, Idfa Forum and the Sundance Institute.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job. This common scenario turned deadly when the mechanic retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from the shop office and shot Ford once in the chest. Though he was unarmed, the mechanic claimed self-defense. When a Grand Jury decided not to pursue charges,...
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job. This common scenario turned deadly when the mechanic retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from the shop office and shot Ford once in the chest. Though he was unarmed, the mechanic claimed self-defense. When a Grand Jury decided not to pursue charges,...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Despite the lottery-esque sounding odds, the U.S Dramatic Competition section which produces the finest American indie specimens such as Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and Whiplash is fairly consistent in terms of quality. Last year’s crop of sixteen have almost all had their theatrical releases with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter being the last one out of the gates (pegged with an early 2015 release). Last week we individually looked at our top 80 Sundance Film Fest Predictions (you’ll find 30 other titles worth considering in our intro) and below, we’ve split the list into narrative and non-fiction film items and have both identified and color-coded our picks in an AtoZ cheat sheet. You’ll find 2015′s answer to Whiplash located somewhere in the stack below. Click on the individual titles below, for the film’s profile.
- 11/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
There is nothing new in the subject matters covered in Yance Ford’s debut. Gun violence. Authorities taking a blind eye approach. A family and community torn. Pretty much sight unseen (although a peak at the trailer helps), I’d be surprised if I’ll personally be able to withstand the emotionally walloping that Strong Island promises to deliver. Forget about dry eyes. We’ve been anticipating this docu since we first heard of the person (Filmmaker Mag’s Scott Macaulay Top 25 Faces profile), and ever since then, it’s been collecting massive support from the Sundance Institute, Cinereach, Idfa Forum and just last month, a major helping hand from the MacArthur Foundation Documentary Grant. We’re wishful that this lands at the top of ’15.
Gist: Tracing the impacts of the 1992 shooting death of William Ford, Jr., an unarmed African American, and the devastation of the Ford family when his killer goes unpunished.
Gist: Tracing the impacts of the 1992 shooting death of William Ford, Jr., an unarmed African American, and the devastation of the Ford family when his killer goes unpunished.
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
I am delighted Steve McQueen's serious and beautifully filmed movie was recognised at the Oscars but I found it oddly bloodless in spirit
12 Years a Slave is a remarkable film and I share the widespread delight that it won recognition at the Oscars in Hollywood, especially when there was always a risk that an enjoyable bit of immoral trash like The Wolf of Wall Street might have done some business at its high-minded expense.
But best film of the year? I hope not. It's a political film with a political message for our times – slavery isn't over when there are an estimated 21 million slaves today, so Steve McQueen reminded his audience on Sunday night. But Casablanca was a very political film too, plenty are, but dialogue, plot, character made them better movies.
By the time we first glimpse 33-year-old carpenter, Solomon Northup, author of a moving 1853 memoir and hero...
12 Years a Slave is a remarkable film and I share the widespread delight that it won recognition at the Oscars in Hollywood, especially when there was always a risk that an enjoyable bit of immoral trash like The Wolf of Wall Street might have done some business at its high-minded expense.
But best film of the year? I hope not. It's a political film with a political message for our times – slavery isn't over when there are an estimated 21 million slaves today, so Steve McQueen reminded his audience on Sunday night. But Casablanca was a very political film too, plenty are, but dialogue, plot, character made them better movies.
By the time we first glimpse 33-year-old carpenter, Solomon Northup, author of a moving 1853 memoir and hero...
- 3/4/2014
- by Michael White
- The Guardian - Film News
As Steve McQueen's Oscar favourite 12 Years a Slave opens at cinemas, Sarah Churchwell returns to the 1853 memoir that inspired it – one of many narratives that exposed the brutal truth about slavery, too long ignored or sentimentalised by Hollywood
In 1825 a fugitive slave named William Grimes wrote an autobiography in order to earn $500 to purchase freedom from his erstwhile master, who had discovered his whereabouts in Connecticut and was trying to remand Grimes back into slavery. At the end of his story the fugitive makes a memorable offer: "If it were not for the stripes on my back which were made while I was a slave, I would in my will, leave my skin a legacy to the government, desiring that it might be taken off and made into parchment, and then bind the constitution of glorious happy and free America." Few literary images have more vividly evoked the hypocrisy...
In 1825 a fugitive slave named William Grimes wrote an autobiography in order to earn $500 to purchase freedom from his erstwhile master, who had discovered his whereabouts in Connecticut and was trying to remand Grimes back into slavery. At the end of his story the fugitive makes a memorable offer: "If it were not for the stripes on my back which were made while I was a slave, I would in my will, leave my skin a legacy to the government, desiring that it might be taken off and made into parchment, and then bind the constitution of glorious happy and free America." Few literary images have more vividly evoked the hypocrisy...
- 1/11/2014
- by Sarah Churchwell
- The Guardian - Film News
Solomon Northup's story, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, has been turned into one of the most brilliant historical films you'll ever see
• Video interview with 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen
• More from the Reel history archive
Twelve Years a Slave (2013)
Director: Steve McQueen
Entertainment grade: A
History grade: A+
In 1841, Solomon Northup – a free black man from New York State – was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Kidnapping
Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) lives comfortably with a wife, two children, and a decent income from playing the violin. When two men offer him a fortnight's work with a circus in Washington DC, he agrees. In 1841, the District of Columbia was still a "slave state" – making the nation's capital dangerous territory for black and mixed-race people. Once there, Northup is drugged. He awakes in chains. The scenes in the film are faithful to Northup's 1853 memoir, also called 12 Years a Slave. Historians have documented...
• Video interview with 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen
• More from the Reel history archive
Twelve Years a Slave (2013)
Director: Steve McQueen
Entertainment grade: A
History grade: A+
In 1841, Solomon Northup – a free black man from New York State – was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Kidnapping
Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) lives comfortably with a wife, two children, and a decent income from playing the violin. When two men offer him a fortnight's work with a circus in Washington DC, he agrees. In 1841, the District of Columbia was still a "slave state" – making the nation's capital dangerous territory for black and mixed-race people. Once there, Northup is drugged. He awakes in chains. The scenes in the film are faithful to Northup's 1853 memoir, also called 12 Years a Slave. Historians have documented...
- 1/8/2014
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 3 Jan 2014 - 07:52
They made us boo and hiss, and maybe made us like them a little bit, too. Here's our rundown of our favourite 2013 movie villains...
Nb: The following contains spoilers. If you stumble on an entry for a film you haven't seen yet, you're advised to skip to the next one.
We love them, we hate them, and sometimes, we love to hate them. Villains are the driving force of just about every story, and there was no shortage of great ones in 2013's movies. Whether they were violent and weapon waving, or quiet and slyly insinuating, last year's films were full of great antagonists of every sort.
You're sure to have some of your own ideas over who deserved to be listed among 2013's best baddies (so feel free to add yours in the comments, as ever), and honourable mentions should...
They made us boo and hiss, and maybe made us like them a little bit, too. Here's our rundown of our favourite 2013 movie villains...
Nb: The following contains spoilers. If you stumble on an entry for a film you haven't seen yet, you're advised to skip to the next one.
We love them, we hate them, and sometimes, we love to hate them. Villains are the driving force of just about every story, and there was no shortage of great ones in 2013's movies. Whether they were violent and weapon waving, or quiet and slyly insinuating, last year's films were full of great antagonists of every sort.
You're sure to have some of your own ideas over who deserved to be listed among 2013's best baddies (so feel free to add yours in the comments, as ever), and honourable mentions should...
- 1/2/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
As we come close to concluding our list of Sundance predictions for ’14, it’s worth pointing out just how indispensable the backing of organizations such as the Sundance Institute, Cinereach, Idfa Forum, countless other documentary organizations (and we include Filmmaker Magazine here as well) in their efforts to assure the quality, originality, survival and success of docu films from docu filmmaker of the old and new guard. All of the above represents the kind of love that Yance Ford’s Strong Island has received over the years. Ford who has been kept busy with her day job as the Series Producer of Pov (we heart PBS and obviously this channel) received some coin from Sundance back in 2012 and we think that it has a good chance at breaking the ’14 line-up.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job.
Gist: In April 1992, William Ford, a black 24-year-old teacher argued with a white 19-year-old mechanic about the quality of a repair job.
- 11/21/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Mark your ballots now, because director Steve McQueen's powerful and unflinching 12 Years a Slave will deservedly score some Oscar gold. Beginning in 1841, the film tells the incredible true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free, well-educated black man from Saratoga Springs, NY, who's abducted and sold into slavery. (At the time, America had 13 Free States and 13 Slave States.) Northup gets traded to several slaveholders, including kindly William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) and sadistic Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). Regularly whipped, humiliated, and forced to work the cotton fields of Louisiana, Northup struggles to stay alive as he searches for a means of escape. Find out more with our five...
- 10/20/2013
- E! Online
12 Years A Slave
Written by John Ridley
Directed by Steve McQueen
USA and UK, 2013
In 1853, Solomon Northup published his memoir 12 Years A Slave, a story of how a black man born free in New York was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and for a dozen years worked on various plantations around Louisiana just before the American Civil War. Acclaimed British artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen has now brought this extraordinary tale to the big screen, following his physically harrowing films Hunger and Shame, in what is more than a mere film but a cultural milestone in the representation of slavery, a major work that is spearing in its intensity, incandescent in its soul.
In what seems certain to be an Oscar-worthy performance, Chiwetel Ejiofor is Northup, a musician who foolishly embarks on a tour with two performers (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) while his wife and children relocate for her job for a few months.
Written by John Ridley
Directed by Steve McQueen
USA and UK, 2013
In 1853, Solomon Northup published his memoir 12 Years A Slave, a story of how a black man born free in New York was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and for a dozen years worked on various plantations around Louisiana just before the American Civil War. Acclaimed British artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen has now brought this extraordinary tale to the big screen, following his physically harrowing films Hunger and Shame, in what is more than a mere film but a cultural milestone in the representation of slavery, a major work that is spearing in its intensity, incandescent in its soul.
In what seems certain to be an Oscar-worthy performance, Chiwetel Ejiofor is Northup, a musician who foolishly embarks on a tour with two performers (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) while his wife and children relocate for her job for a few months.
- 10/20/2013
- by John
- SoundOnSight
Director: Steve McQueen; Screenwriter John Ridley; Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt; Running time: 133 mins; Certificate: 15
It will come as no surprise that Steve McQueen's real-life chronicle of a free man sold into slavery is a remarkable, unflinching, breathlessly affecting drama, the kind of film that leaves you winded. What's surprising is how few of McQueen's fingerprints are visible on 12 Years a Slave. The director's previous films have centred on a laser-focused portrait of a single character – Hunger's ardent Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands, and Shame's self-punishing sex addict Brandon – and the uncomfortable intimacy of these portrayals is a McQueen staple.
The 1840s-set story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has his freedom, his family and even his name stripped from him in a single fateful evening, seems to offer the opportunity for another such rigorous character study. But this is overall a much broader,...
It will come as no surprise that Steve McQueen's real-life chronicle of a free man sold into slavery is a remarkable, unflinching, breathlessly affecting drama, the kind of film that leaves you winded. What's surprising is how few of McQueen's fingerprints are visible on 12 Years a Slave. The director's previous films have centred on a laser-focused portrait of a single character – Hunger's ardent Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands, and Shame's self-punishing sex addict Brandon – and the uncomfortable intimacy of these portrayals is a McQueen staple.
The 1840s-set story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has his freedom, his family and even his name stripped from him in a single fateful evening, seems to offer the opportunity for another such rigorous character study. But this is overall a much broader,...
- 10/18/2013
- Digital Spy
Healing is a process more viable for the physical body than for the always-restless memory. Scars and wounds vanish into the past to be replaced by new skin, yet always leaving a mark. As minimal as that trace may be it becomes a permanent record of the pain endured. The size is correlated to that of the injury itself, some being naturally greater than others. And that is the only rational way to describe the faded hurt of a nation ravaged by injustice and by the torturing past that is indelibly present.
How can the people of a certain country accept a defining time in their collective timeline, facts that are too atrocious to be constantly visible but for the same reason impossible to erase. It is perhaps an immoral act to try to forget because until all the wrongs have been judged with the only redeeming force humanity can attain – Truth –no peace can be found . Such a light is the guiding principle in every image, every sound, every line delivered in the devastatingly moving masterpiece that is Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.
Guarded by an artificial veil of acceptance in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York during the late 19th century, Solomon Northup lived as a free black man with his family enjoying a life of seemingly equal prosperity as his fellow white men. He was educated, a violin virtuoso, respected and untainted by the racial hatred that plagued the southern states. Ironically, that same trusting state in which he naïvely lived and his undeniable musical talent led him to be lured into a trip that would keep him enslaved, away from his wife and kids for an infernal twelve years across several different plantations. Those whom he believed to be his friends sold him into slavery, a condition that he had to accept to survive, and which rid him of any trace of individuality, even his name.
Existing by the name Platt, Solomon discovers the real condition in which those that look like him live. Transformed into a disposable commodity and considered someone else’s property the harrowing journey that aims to break his spirit into submission begins. There are countless poignant episodes crafted by McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley to delve into a distinct perception of slavery, its consequences, and the uniform abominable ignorance that allowed for it become the corrosive evil that it was. No unquestionable villain is ever found; even those who commit the most heinous acts of violence and degradation are inspected with unparallel brutal honesty without a trace of purposeful intention to persuade the viewer into an easy conclusion.
Theophilus Freeman’s (Paul Giamatti) explicit display of naked African-American men and women for sale is condemned with equally unbiased exposition as the indifference and faithful acceptance of the status quo by semi-humane Baptist preacher and a slave owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). Both were willing participants in a widely accepted dehumanizing process that allowed them to continue on with their lives without disabling remorse. That indeed is the most unsettling truth about the past, the way people at every level of the chain rationalize and condone one another under the fake cloud of superiority by means of a divine righteousness.
Although forced to endure such unmerciful treatment Solomon stands as a pillar of hope, a dignified soul that refuses to perish at the face of the terrifying circumstances. Beaten but never broken, he retains a fire to survive longs for the day he will return home. Soon enough his repressed rage leads him to defiantly beat the despicable overseer, John Tibeats ( Paul Dano), an act that leaves him hanging from a lynching noose. His fellow black men, unable to help him, disabled as they are by fear, go about their day while he fights off his imminent death in what becomes one the most haunting images of the entire film.
Perpetually reminded of his inferior value in the eyes of his owners, Solomon is once again exchanged in an act of kindness to save his life. Under the self-indulgent command of Edwin Epps ( Michael Fassbender) he is exposed to unprecedented cruelty enforced with the unholy excuse of being God's mandate. Unflinchingly, for the all the agonizing pain Epps' slaves are put through, McQueen does not pass judgment but rather, he eagerly explores the reasoning --if there is any -- for such anguish to be permitted. Admitting without reservations that the entire length of Solomon’s cinematic ordeal is a heart-wrenching experience testifies to the power of the medium and the participants’ selfless devotion to the story.
Leading an outstanding cast is Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose performance truly cannot receive enough praise to express its impact. There is nota single false move in his visceral portrayal of a man who has lost everything and found the miraculous strength not to fall into despair. It’s mesmerizing to witness the total willingness of an actor to let himself experience the horror, the debilitating probability of never being free again, and in a scene of pure emotional intensity, even sing along the others afflicted by the same injustice. The closest to a flawless performance in any film this year.
Also noteworthy among the impeccable ensemble cast is Fassbender’s take on Epps. McQueen’s long time muse plays the sexually deviant estate owner that justifies his inhumane actions as a duty bestowed on him by divine grace. Vicious and apparently nonchalant, he drinks himself away to obliterate the thoughts of what he has done and to bear the sadistic demands of his jealous wife Mary, played with matching savagery by Sarah Paulson. Her preferred target is Patsey, a young slave who is unwillingly Mr.Epps’ object of desire. Played by Lupita Nyong’o with fervent passion and hopeless desperation, she delivers one of the most riveting performances of the year, one that unquestionably deserves every accolade.
Above all the singular outstanding elements in the production, one name that shines as heroic among the rest. Director Steve McQueen has covered himself in a heavy coat of bravery. He collected the bravery not ot hesitate, never to show the violence in a gratuitous manner, but with the intention to expose the viewer to an experience that serves nothing but the Truth. No sugar-coating or artificial euphemisms here, not in language nor in imagery. Sean Bobbitt’s entrancing beautiful cinematography collides with the crude reality not only of racial relations but also of horrifying dehumanizing behavior. Hans Zimmer's score creates a haunting atmosphere for a vision like no other film about slavery has ever achieved.
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is the most vivid retelling of a time that America believes forgotten but that lingers in the subconscious like the most stubborn scar. Not to see this film would be not only deprivation of experiencing a masterful work of art, but also an irresponsible act of denial of the nation's collective memory of those stripped of their humanity.
Originally published in Filmophilia.com...
How can the people of a certain country accept a defining time in their collective timeline, facts that are too atrocious to be constantly visible but for the same reason impossible to erase. It is perhaps an immoral act to try to forget because until all the wrongs have been judged with the only redeeming force humanity can attain – Truth –no peace can be found . Such a light is the guiding principle in every image, every sound, every line delivered in the devastatingly moving masterpiece that is Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.
Guarded by an artificial veil of acceptance in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York during the late 19th century, Solomon Northup lived as a free black man with his family enjoying a life of seemingly equal prosperity as his fellow white men. He was educated, a violin virtuoso, respected and untainted by the racial hatred that plagued the southern states. Ironically, that same trusting state in which he naïvely lived and his undeniable musical talent led him to be lured into a trip that would keep him enslaved, away from his wife and kids for an infernal twelve years across several different plantations. Those whom he believed to be his friends sold him into slavery, a condition that he had to accept to survive, and which rid him of any trace of individuality, even his name.
Existing by the name Platt, Solomon discovers the real condition in which those that look like him live. Transformed into a disposable commodity and considered someone else’s property the harrowing journey that aims to break his spirit into submission begins. There are countless poignant episodes crafted by McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley to delve into a distinct perception of slavery, its consequences, and the uniform abominable ignorance that allowed for it become the corrosive evil that it was. No unquestionable villain is ever found; even those who commit the most heinous acts of violence and degradation are inspected with unparallel brutal honesty without a trace of purposeful intention to persuade the viewer into an easy conclusion.
Theophilus Freeman’s (Paul Giamatti) explicit display of naked African-American men and women for sale is condemned with equally unbiased exposition as the indifference and faithful acceptance of the status quo by semi-humane Baptist preacher and a slave owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). Both were willing participants in a widely accepted dehumanizing process that allowed them to continue on with their lives without disabling remorse. That indeed is the most unsettling truth about the past, the way people at every level of the chain rationalize and condone one another under the fake cloud of superiority by means of a divine righteousness.
Although forced to endure such unmerciful treatment Solomon stands as a pillar of hope, a dignified soul that refuses to perish at the face of the terrifying circumstances. Beaten but never broken, he retains a fire to survive longs for the day he will return home. Soon enough his repressed rage leads him to defiantly beat the despicable overseer, John Tibeats ( Paul Dano), an act that leaves him hanging from a lynching noose. His fellow black men, unable to help him, disabled as they are by fear, go about their day while he fights off his imminent death in what becomes one the most haunting images of the entire film.
Perpetually reminded of his inferior value in the eyes of his owners, Solomon is once again exchanged in an act of kindness to save his life. Under the self-indulgent command of Edwin Epps ( Michael Fassbender) he is exposed to unprecedented cruelty enforced with the unholy excuse of being God's mandate. Unflinchingly, for the all the agonizing pain Epps' slaves are put through, McQueen does not pass judgment but rather, he eagerly explores the reasoning --if there is any -- for such anguish to be permitted. Admitting without reservations that the entire length of Solomon’s cinematic ordeal is a heart-wrenching experience testifies to the power of the medium and the participants’ selfless devotion to the story.
Leading an outstanding cast is Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose performance truly cannot receive enough praise to express its impact. There is nota single false move in his visceral portrayal of a man who has lost everything and found the miraculous strength not to fall into despair. It’s mesmerizing to witness the total willingness of an actor to let himself experience the horror, the debilitating probability of never being free again, and in a scene of pure emotional intensity, even sing along the others afflicted by the same injustice. The closest to a flawless performance in any film this year.
Also noteworthy among the impeccable ensemble cast is Fassbender’s take on Epps. McQueen’s long time muse plays the sexually deviant estate owner that justifies his inhumane actions as a duty bestowed on him by divine grace. Vicious and apparently nonchalant, he drinks himself away to obliterate the thoughts of what he has done and to bear the sadistic demands of his jealous wife Mary, played with matching savagery by Sarah Paulson. Her preferred target is Patsey, a young slave who is unwillingly Mr.Epps’ object of desire. Played by Lupita Nyong’o with fervent passion and hopeless desperation, she delivers one of the most riveting performances of the year, one that unquestionably deserves every accolade.
Above all the singular outstanding elements in the production, one name that shines as heroic among the rest. Director Steve McQueen has covered himself in a heavy coat of bravery. He collected the bravery not ot hesitate, never to show the violence in a gratuitous manner, but with the intention to expose the viewer to an experience that serves nothing but the Truth. No sugar-coating or artificial euphemisms here, not in language nor in imagery. Sean Bobbitt’s entrancing beautiful cinematography collides with the crude reality not only of racial relations but also of horrifying dehumanizing behavior. Hans Zimmer's score creates a haunting atmosphere for a vision like no other film about slavery has ever achieved.
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is the most vivid retelling of a time that America believes forgotten but that lingers in the subconscious like the most stubborn scar. Not to see this film would be not only deprivation of experiencing a masterful work of art, but also an irresponsible act of denial of the nation's collective memory of those stripped of their humanity.
Originally published in Filmophilia.com...
- 10/18/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
It’s not often that I walk out of a film emotionally destroyed, absolutely broken down, and in a numb, heavy daze, but when I do, I can easily acknowledge something special just happened. I’m not saying I’d ever want to experience the same feelings again, and I’m not going to outright say 12 Years A Slave will reign supreme come awards season, but I will say Steve McQueen’s volatile powderkeg challenged me in ways a slavery themed film never has, daringly diving into material not meant to be swallowed easily and producing a product that’s rightfully challenging. McQueen will undoubtedly test your moral patience, push your visual limitations, and transport viewers to a time better left in the past – but he has to do so. Watering down material and skimping on atrocities would have lost the emotional wallop 12 Years A Slave packs, and for that,...
- 10/14/2013
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
12 Years a Slave
Written by John Ridley
Directed by Steve McQueen
USA, 2013
British artist-turned-film-director Steve McQueen has said in interviews that he wanted to make a movie about slavery in America for some time; he was just searching for the right story. He’s found it in 12 Years a Slave, the 1853 book by Solomon Northrup, a free black man from upstate New York who was kidnapped out of his career as a successful violinist and sold into bondage.
In the film, Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is first owned by the benevolent William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), but spends the lion’s share of the film as the property of the sadistic “breaker” Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). The screenplay by John Ridley (a former television writer and film critic who wrote the underrated movies Red Tails and Undercover Brother) understands that it’s not merely the violence or the master’s rape of...
Written by John Ridley
Directed by Steve McQueen
USA, 2013
British artist-turned-film-director Steve McQueen has said in interviews that he wanted to make a movie about slavery in America for some time; he was just searching for the right story. He’s found it in 12 Years a Slave, the 1853 book by Solomon Northrup, a free black man from upstate New York who was kidnapped out of his career as a successful violinist and sold into bondage.
In the film, Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is first owned by the benevolent William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), but spends the lion’s share of the film as the property of the sadistic “breaker” Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). The screenplay by John Ridley (a former television writer and film critic who wrote the underrated movies Red Tails and Undercover Brother) understands that it’s not merely the violence or the master’s rape of...
- 10/8/2013
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
If you are an Oscar hound and festival fiend such as myself, you have likely heard of the ecstatic response Steve McQueen’s newest film, 12 Years a Slave, has received on the internet. The film had a momentous response in the mountains of Telluride, where many Oscar pundits declared the Best Picture race over and done with. Then, the film made the trek north of border to Toronto, where it got an equally warm response from the more “general audience”, movie-going public at Tiff, where it won that festival’s People’s Choice Award as the festival’s best film, an award usually given to more upbeat film’s such as last year’s winner, Silver Linings Playbook.
All of these enthusiastic responses have clearly placed 12 Years a Slave as the current frontrunner in the race for Oscar gold, but lost in all this track betting...
If you are an Oscar hound and festival fiend such as myself, you have likely heard of the ecstatic response Steve McQueen’s newest film, 12 Years a Slave, has received on the internet. The film had a momentous response in the mountains of Telluride, where many Oscar pundits declared the Best Picture race over and done with. Then, the film made the trek north of border to Toronto, where it got an equally warm response from the more “general audience”, movie-going public at Tiff, where it won that festival’s People’s Choice Award as the festival’s best film, an award usually given to more upbeat film’s such as last year’s winner, Silver Linings Playbook.
All of these enthusiastic responses have clearly placed 12 Years a Slave as the current frontrunner in the race for Oscar gold, but lost in all this track betting...
- 9/22/2013
- by Christopher Lominac
- Obsessed with Film
The 2013 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards are giving Benedict Cumberbatch a very special honor. This year, he's going to be named the British Artist of the Year at the annual awards ceremony.
Cumberbatch will be joining some prestigious company. Other recipients of the award include Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Sheen and Tilda Swinton. The awards ceremony will take place on Nov. 5, and be broadcast on BBC America on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m.
"Benedict Cumberbatch has had a remarkable year, and as one of the UK's leading talents he truly exemplifies the continued respect that British talents have garnered around the globe," Chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles Gary Dartnall says in a statement. "Masterfully performing in TV, Film and Theatre and never failing to astound us with his talent and versatility, BAFTA Los Angeles is proud to honor Benedict as our British Artist of the Year."
It's true; Cumberbatch has had a great year.
Cumberbatch will be joining some prestigious company. Other recipients of the award include Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Sheen and Tilda Swinton. The awards ceremony will take place on Nov. 5, and be broadcast on BBC America on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m.
"Benedict Cumberbatch has had a remarkable year, and as one of the UK's leading talents he truly exemplifies the continued respect that British talents have garnered around the globe," Chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles Gary Dartnall says in a statement. "Masterfully performing in TV, Film and Theatre and never failing to astound us with his talent and versatility, BAFTA Los Angeles is proud to honor Benedict as our British Artist of the Year."
It's true; Cumberbatch has had a great year.
- 9/5/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Steve McQueen’s latest, 12 Years A Slave, seems certain to get some awards attention in its near future after a successful critical launch at the Telluride Film Festival. While we’ll have to wait until January to see it, you can tide yourself over with a new featurette, which sees McQueen and some of his cast and crew talking about the real story on which the film is based.Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northrup, a free black man living with his family in New York who is tempted by the promise of a regular performing gig by two men from Washington. But once he arrives, he’s drugged, chained and shipped off to a plantation as a slave.Through the years of his captivity, he meets masters both cruel (Michael Fassbender’s Edwin Epps) and concerned (Benedict Cumberbatch’s William Ford) and struggles to win his freedom, a quest...
- 9/4/2013
- EmpireOnline
The biopic of the late princess promises a brief 80s revival, Woody Allen's latest offering is being hailed as another return to form – and Benedict Cumberbatch will be inescapable
Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Epic, erotic, intimate and politically engaged, this movie – based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh and winner of the 2013 Palme d'Or at Cannes – is a must-see. Relating the story of a passionate love affair between two young women, it is directed with intelligence and calm by the Franco-Tunisian film-maker Abdellatif Kechiche, and features lead performances of outstanding honesty and power. Adèle Exarchopoulos and newcomer Léa Seydoux play a teenager and an art student who have an intense relationship, discovering that their love has to exist both in and out of the closet. It triggers a personal and political revolution for both. The film is controversial; Maroh has called it a heterosexual fantasy of gay experience,...
Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Epic, erotic, intimate and politically engaged, this movie – based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh and winner of the 2013 Palme d'Or at Cannes – is a must-see. Relating the story of a passionate love affair between two young women, it is directed with intelligence and calm by the Franco-Tunisian film-maker Abdellatif Kechiche, and features lead performances of outstanding honesty and power. Adèle Exarchopoulos and newcomer Léa Seydoux play a teenager and an art student who have an intense relationship, discovering that their love has to exist both in and out of the closet. It triggers a personal and political revolution for both. The film is controversial; Maroh has called it a heterosexual fantasy of gay experience,...
- 9/2/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
We hope Steve McQueen packed some extra socks and underwear. Hitting Telluride this weekend to present "12 Years A Slave" (where it's pretty much guaranteed to sneak preview, apparently today) and then heading to Tiff next week to unspool the movie on Canadian soil, the director will then head to New York City for the New York Film Festival. The movie will be making its official U.S. premiere at the fest with McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Adepero Oduye, Paul Dano and Alfre Woodard all appearing to present the film. Penned by John Ridley and shot by McQueen collaborator Sean Bobbitt, the film tells the true story of free man Solomon Northup (Ejiofor), who was abducted in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and delivered to slave trader James Burch (Paul Giamatti), bought by gentleman farmer William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) and finally sold to cruel and mentally unbalanced cotton...
- 8/30/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
We might be in the midst of summer blockbuster season, but there’s always room for a different flavour of film. And what could be better, when looking towards the awards circuit, than a taste of Steve McQueen’s latest project. Enjoy, then, your first proper look at 12 Years A Slave over at Apple.Based on a painful true story, 12 Years A Slave follows Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), born free in upstate New York and working as a talented musician, who is abducted and sold into slavery.As he’s carted between different masters (including Benedict Cumberbatch as the lenient William Ford and McQueen regular Michael Fassbender as the cruel Edwin Epps), Solomon tries to stay strong, hoping that he can find someone to help him win his freedom back. Eventually, he meets Canadian abolitionist Bass (Brad Pitt), and things start to change. The poster is also online, and can be seen below.
- 7/15/2013
- EmpireOnline
This blog is part of our Inspired Ethonomics series.
All of a sudden, companies are waking up to the fact that sustainability can drive innovation.
Innovation is one of those evergreen topics forever featured in business school reviews, classrooms and business magazines. The link to sustainability, however, is new, and is steadily replacing old thinking that saw corporate responsibility mainly as a way to keep a company's reputation out of trouble.
Companies looking to get this right need to think about innovation for sustainability in three ways: products, processes, and business models.
Sometimes the most familiar products offer the most radical opportunities for change. An executive at a large beverage company told me recently that they are thinking about selling packets of soluble powder instead of shipping their drinks around the world in cans and bottles. This would reduce energy and carbon emissions, as well as packaging. In the meantime,...
All of a sudden, companies are waking up to the fact that sustainability can drive innovation.
Innovation is one of those evergreen topics forever featured in business school reviews, classrooms and business magazines. The link to sustainability, however, is new, and is steadily replacing old thinking that saw corporate responsibility mainly as a way to keep a company's reputation out of trouble.
Companies looking to get this right need to think about innovation for sustainability in three ways: products, processes, and business models.
Sometimes the most familiar products offer the most radical opportunities for change. An executive at a large beverage company told me recently that they are thinking about selling packets of soluble powder instead of shipping their drinks around the world in cans and bottles. This would reduce energy and carbon emissions, as well as packaging. In the meantime,...
- 2/2/2010
- by Aron Cramer
- Fast Company
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