In the pre-Civil War US a free black man from upstate New York is abducted and sold into slavery. He struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. His chance meeting with a abolitionist forever alters his life
12 Years A Slave is based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom.
The force of "Gravity" was strong at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday — but it was unflinching drama "12 Years a Slave" that took the top prize. Steve McQueen's visceral, violent story of a free black man kidnapped into servitude in the 19th-century U.S. South was named best picture. Its star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, took the male acting trophy.