American film critics rate ’12 Years a Slave’ best film in 2013
The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) in the US capital city,has declared ’12 Years a Slave’, a historical drama film and an adaptation of the 1853 autobiography by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free negro who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and sold into slavery.
He worked on plantations for 12 years before his release in the state of Louisiana, a famous city in the US, mostly populated by blacks, who were direct descendants of slaves.
PANA in New York reports that a brief statement, quoted WAFCA President, Mr. Tim Gordon, as saying that, ‘this story of perseverance and the triumph of the human spirit over degradation and misery appealed to our members in a powerful way’.
‘I am proud of the choice that we collectively made,’ Mr. Gordon noted.
The statement disclosed that the association also bestowed its Best Actor award on the film’s leading man, Mr. Chiwetel Ejiofor, a British actor born of Nigerian parents, and its Best Supporting Actress accolade on his co-star, Ms. Lupita Nyong’o, a Kenyan actress and
filmaker.
Ms. Nyong’o, who was born in Mexico city, Mexico, to a Kenyan family and raised in Kenya, made her American film debut in ’12 Years a Slave’, as Patsey.
PANA also learnt that the movie earned the awards for Best Ensemble.
The film, which runs for 133 minutes, was released on 18 October, 2013, in the US and had widely been lauded by critics.