Director Antoine Fuqua is teaming up with actor Will Smith to bring to life Emancipation, the true story of former slave Peter Gordon who escaped a plantation owned by John and Bridget Lyons in 1863 Louisiana.
Penned by Bill Collage, Fuqua read the script nearly two years ago and felt like the time was right to bring the film to the silver screen given the current racial climate of the U.S.
Westbrook Studios’ James Lassiter, Jon Mone and Smith, alongside Todd Black of Escape Artists and Joey McFarland of McFarland Entertainment will come aboard as producers. Cliff Roberts and Fuqua Films will executive produce.
Emancipation is set to begin production in Spring 2021.
In the search for freedom, Peter Gordon would find himself outsmarting slave hunters by masking his scent from bloodhounds with onions as he was chased for 40 miles until he reached Union soldiers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Gordon’s story became a recognizable part of history when the former slave was photograph showing his bare back that had suffered the lashes of several whippings by overseer Artayou Carrier, which left him bedridden for two months.
The photographs known as The Scourged Back became the imagery of the horrific realities of slavery throughout the world, even causing some countries, such as France, to refuse buying cotton from southern United States.
In an exclusive interview with Deadline, Fuqua is determined to show an accurate account of U.S. history.
“It was the first viral image of the brutality of slavery that the world saw, which is interesting, when you put it into perspective with today and social media and what the world is seeing, again,” Fuqua said in the interview.
He continued, “You can’t fix the past, but you can remind people of the past and I think we have to, in an accurate, real way. We all have to look for a brighter future for us all, for everyone. That’s one of the most important reasons to do things right now, is show our history. We have to face our truth before we can move forward.”
