In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man, is abducted and sold into slavery. With no opportunity to prove his identity, he is consigned to assume the name of ‘Platt’, a runaway Georgian slave. Despite being thousands of miles away from his wife and children and having no way of contacting them, Solomon’s hope for his freedom never completely diminishes. He steels himself in case the opportunity were to arise, urging his fellow slave, Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) to do the same. Facing cruelty from a malevolent slave owner (Michael Fassbender), Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity in his quest to be reunited with his family. Based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, this film is the unforgettable vision of one man’s will to overcome adversity.
12 Years a Slave is now available on DVD, and thanks to Icon Home Entertainment we have 3 DVD copies to give away to Australian readers. To go into the draw for this giveaway, email your name and address to
sarah@trespassmag.com by June 29th. Please remember to put ‘12 Years a Slave‘ in the subject line of the email. Only one entry per person will be accepted.
