Apple Original Films has released its new trailer for its highly anticipated film Emancipation. The new trailer gives us an intense new look at the film which will dive into the many atrocities committed in the antebellum South, and the lengths that one man will go to reunite with his family. Emancipation will debut in theaters on December 2, and will become available globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, December 9.
Emancipation stars Will Smith as Peter, a man who manages to escape from slavery, plunging himself into the wilds of Louisiana swampland as he evades cold-blooded hunters in order to reunite with his family. The film is inspired by the infamous 1863 photos of "Whipped Peter", a series of photographs taken by the Union Army during a medical examination. The photographs have stood for over a century as a reminder of the atrocities inflicted by the institution of slavery. But Emancipation will take these photographs and give us the human story behind them, showing Peter's strength, his enduring capacity for love, and his dedication to his family.
The new trailer gave us our first glimpse into the film and opens with Peter saying his goodbyes to his family before being shipped off to another plantation, illustrating the all too common practice of separating enslaved families. The trailer gives us a small look into some of the horrible conditions that Peter has to endure on his journey home. The film features a haunting aesthetic, which is drained of color and set with contrasting shadows and sharp lines, mimicking the look of tintype photographs. The look of the film hints at its inspiration, the series of photographs originally published in Harper's Weekly, which would become illustrative of the cruelties of slavery. The trailer ends with a shot of Peter, played by Smith, sitting in front of the camera with his back turned to it, showing the large welted scars left by the physical abuse he endured. The shot directly calls to the image "The Scourged Back", which contributed to the growing anti-slavery movement.
Emancipation is directed by Antoine Fuqua from a script written by William N. Collage. The film is produced by Smith and Jon Mone through Westbrook Studios. The film is also produced by Joey McFarland through McFarland Entertainment and Todd Black through Escape Artists. Fuqua, Chris Brigham, James Lassiter, Heather Washington, Cliff Roberts, Glen Basner, and Scott Greenberg are executive producing the film.
In addition to Smith, the film also stars Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, Mustafa Shakir, Steven Ogg, Grant Harvey, Ronnie Gene Bivens, Jayson Warner Smith, Jabbar Lewis, Michael Luwoye, Aaron Moten, and Imani Pullum.
Emancipation will premiere in theaters on December 2, 2022, and will become available globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, December 9, 2022. Until then, you can watch the trailer for the film below.