Fox Searchlight has acquired and announced a release date for Steve McQueen‘s Shame follow-up Twelve Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The picture features Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, with performances from an incredible ensemble cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Alfre Woodard, Garret Dillahunt, Lupita Nyong'o, Adepero Oduye, Scott McNairy, Sarah Paulson, Michael K. Williams, Chris Chalk, Dwight Henry, Quvenzhane Wallis and Brad Pitt.
According to a tweet (below) from distributor, the historical drama based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northrup is scheduled for a release on December 27th, 2013.
This allows the film to qualify for the major awards ceremonies that will be held in 2014.
Excitement: We will be releasing Steve McQueen's TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE (C. Ejiofor, B. Pitt & M. Fassbender) on December 27, 2013!
— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) March 28, 2013
Here's an official plot description:
SOLOMON NORTHUP (Chiwtel Ejiofor), an educated black man with a gift for music, lives with his wife and children in Saratoga, New York. One day, when his family is out of town, he is approached by two men claiming to be circus promoters. Solomon agrees to travel with them briefly, playing the fiddle while they perform. But after sharing a drink with the men, he awakens to find he has been drugged and bound and faces a horrifying reality: he is being shipped to the South as a slave.
