12 Years a Slave

Brief summary from the film's website:

 

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE is based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) will forever alter his life.

Main characters in the film:

Solomon Northrup/Platt (his slave name) -- played by Chiwetel Ejiofor
Edwin Epps (his master for most of the film) -- played by Fassbender
Mary Epps (Epps's wife)
Patsey -- played by Lupita Nyong'o
John Tibeats
William Ford
Judge Turner
Mistress Harriet Shaw
Eliza
Theophilus Freeman (Paul Giamatti)
Samuel Bass (Brad Pitt)

 

 

Historical background:  (from the Penguin Study guide)

Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, A Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, From a Cotton Plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, was published in 1853. Solomon Northup was a free black living in New York who was lured south, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. His memoir, written shortly after his escape, recounts the harrowing events of his kidnapping and his dehumanizing and violent treatment as a slave on plantations in the interior of Louisiana where he worked in the cotton and sugar cane fields. During all those years, Northup looked for a chance to escape and was finally helped by an abolitionist carpenter with whom he chanced to work. With legal documents from the state of New York, Northup was finally freed and was able to bring legal action against his captors.