Emancipation (2022) tells the gripping true story of Peter, an enslaved man who escapes from a brutal plantation in the South after suffering unimaginable hardships. Driven by a desire for freedom, Peter embarks on a perilous journey to the North, determined to reunite with his family. The film is inspired by the famous 1863 photograph “The Scourged Back,” which depicts Peter’s back scarred from brutal whipping, symbolizing the extreme cruelty enslaved people endured.

The movie explores the harrowing realities of slavery and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable oppression. Peter’s journey highlights not only the personal struggles for liberty but also the larger fight for abolition. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith as Peter, Emancipation underscores themes of survival, resistance, and the unyielding quest for justice, making a powerful statement on the history of slavery in America.