It was meant to be a moving film about a slave’s escape through the Louisiana swamps, but before it was released, Emancipation has received an unexpected label: it’s Will Smith’s first film since his Oscar slap.
This feature film available from Friday on Apple TV + allows the 54-year-old actor to make his comeback on the screen, eight months after being expelled from Hollywood after his altercation with Chris Rock.
If he does not wish to return to this incident in an interview, the actor known exclusively by BFMTV, however, is confident in the role he is playing in his new film, directed by Antoine Fuqua.
“As an artist and a human being I try to give value to my life by doing human things. I think this film is important above all at this time, ”she explains.
Towards an Oscar nomination?
Emancipation is inspired by the true story of “Scourged Peter”, or “Scourged Peter”, a black slave who was handed down to posterity by the barbaric treatment inflicted on him by his masters, before escaping from a cotton plantation during the American Civil War .
Will Smith embodies this character who escapes the clutches of cruel masters, and whose escape Antoine Fuqua imagines through the sticky swamps of Louisiana, teeming with alligators, snakes and other dangers. The director films this quest for freedom as a suspenseful thriller, rather than a historical drama, and brings the abuses inflicted on slaves head-on.
Ironically, some critics predict Emancipation an Oscar nomination. If Will Smith is banned from the ceremony for 10 years, having himself resigned from the Academy, he theoretically can still be nominated and win a statuette.
“I want Antoine and all the artists who worked on this film to get the awards they deserve,” says Will Smith.
And to conclude: “It would break my heart if they were rejected for a moment of bewilderment on my part. I hope the team is honored for their work.”
Source: BFM TV
