Emancipation’s Will Smith & Antoine Fuqua and NAACP Hollywood’s Kyle Bowser on Finding a ‘Delicate Balance’ to Portray Slavery Stories – Deadline Virtual House

liberation Deadline on Martin Luther King Jr. was joined by star and producer Will Smith, along with director and executive producer Antoine Fuqua and NAACP Hollywood Bureau SVP Kyle Bower. Day for a special panel presentation to talk about the compelling anti-slavery film. The Apple Original Films tells the gripping story of an escaped slave named Peter (Smith) who embarks on a treacherous five-day journey through the Louisiana swamps to save himself and his family from a nearby battlefield occupied by President Abraham Lincoln is, freedom to find troops. . .

The film takes place in 1863, just months after slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. The gruesome photo, taken during a medical examination prior to Peter’s enlistment in the Union Army, shows numerous cuts and disfigured flesh as a result of the injustice and brutality of slavery. Horrified by the horrors of slavery, which were then often denounced or glossed over, abolitionists widely printed the image and used it to fan the flames of public opposition to slavery and to inspire other black men to join the Union Army against joining the Confederates.

because liberation is a steadfast historical account of slavery, Fuqua and Smith had to consider the public and their perception of black body trauma.

“It was really interesting deciding what to show and how to show it,” Smith said. “And it took a lot of energy. We spoke with Mary Elliot, the director of the [Smithsonian’s National] African American Museum of History and Culture, and she talked about the same problems in putting these slavery exhibits together, because you want to capture the reality, but you don’t want the reality to be so unbearable that people don’t want to come and see the exhibition. So it’s like trying to find that delicate balance of reaching out to the people and capturing the essence of the depth of the atrocity without defeating its purpose by creating something that people don’t want to see.

Fuqua added that he sees the film not as a slave film, but as something beyond this story that explores the power of religion, resilience and the human spirit.

“The whole point of the movie was about love and family and resilience and faith and saving ourselves. This is the most inspiring thing about Peter. He saved himself… We must never forget how important it is in filmmaking to make a film where we save ourselves, especially true stories.”

As a member of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, Bowser, who recently partnered with the HFPA, agreed that blacks should recognize this despite the discourse of making dead films that emphasized the harsh realities of plantation-era America.

“We talk a lot at the NAACP Hollywood bureau about the shooting process and how every frame of what you see is intentional. None of this happens by accident. They have very talented and smart people putting these stories together and they’re working on how to tell the story,” Bowser said. “And when you have trusted filmmakers, trusted storytellers like Antoine and Will, and the other people involved, you can believe their intent is worth your time and attention. Nothing is more traumatic than separating people from their history. It is the most traumatic thing you can do to a person or a group of people. And so now we have to dig up those stories and look really hard at the truth of what we suffered. I think it’s really necessary to understand how we got to where we are today and even think about how we’re going to move on from that place.”

liberation had a limited theatrical run in December before releasing on Apple TV+ on December 9th. It received five NAACP Image Award nominations in the categories of Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Cast, Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture, and Outstanding Costume Design.

Bower continued, “I fully endorse this film. Our association supports this film. Obviously, our nominating committee decided that it was worthy of five nominations. Now the audience decides who the winners are going to be. But this film and several others do an excellent work to tell stories in a very authentic way that we all need to use.

Click on the video above to watch the interview. WARNING: Discussion contains sensitive language.