The journey of solomon northup movie

• The drama %2712 Years a Slave%27 is based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northup
• Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Northup%2C a free man who spent more than a decade in servitude
• Brad Pitt is a part of the supporting cast and a producer on the movie

Hollywood is giving a history lesson on an unsung abolitionist hero.

Twelve Years a Slave, slated for a fall release, is director Steve McQueen's adaptation of the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northup, an African-American who was born a free man but was tricked, captured and sold into slavery.

He wound up working for 12 years on Louisiana plantations.

The British filmmaker is well-versed in American history, but he found Northup's story to be completely obscure. "It was the Anne Frank story of America of that time,'' says McQueen.

"It's the situation and the detail of Solomon's recollection of those events that ingrained itself in my brain, and the humanity of everyone involved."

One of the