With his hair hanging below his shoulder, Brad Pitt sat on the stage of the Palm Theater after the screening of “12 Years a Slave.” There had been low-register buzz earlier in the day that Pitt, whose company Plan B produced the searing drama, would be in the mountain town for the world premiere. Set to open in the fall, “12 Years a Slave” is based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who in 1843 was kidnapped while traveling and sold into slavery.
“First of all, I’ve seen this film a couple of times now and I find it a little difficult to speak afterwards,” said Pitt. “It might be more productive if we just had a group walk around the block.” Nearby sat McQueen and his astounding cast: Northup’s portrayer Chiwetel Ejifor; Michael Fassbender, who plays slave owner Edwin Epps; and Lupita Nyong’o, making a searing debut as Patsey.
Pitt is right. McQueen, a celebrated British artist turned filmmaker, has made a film that is as brilliantly crafted as it is relentless in depicting slavery.
• x006 August 30 – Twelve Years a Slave (Q&A) – Telluride, CO.
• x009 August 31 – Twelve Years a Slave (Q&A) – Telluride, CO.
• x005 August 31 – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Party) – Telluride, CO.