EMANCIPATION

APPLE TV+ MOVIE

After the Will Smith slap incident at the Oscars, there were reports that Emancipation’s release might be delayed to allow memories to fade and give it the best chance of awards success. However, here we are.

Smith (right) plays Peter, a slave who escapes from a Louisiana plantation but then has to evade the men hunting him as he makes his way north to freedom and his family. Training Day director Antoine Fuqua directs this powerful drama, and the film is based on a true story. In 1863, photographs of an escaped slave, ‘Whipped Peter’, including one of his horrifically scarred back, were published and contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.

From Friday