Antoine Fuqua Shot ‘Emancipation’ Almost Entirely in Black-and-White to ‘Drain the Color Out of the Confederacy’

For a film about the racial divide in America during the Civil War, Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation notably lacks color. The director shot the movie in a stylized black-and-white — a brilliant and inspired choice that digs much deeper than visual appeal. Released December 9 on Apple TV+, the film has already garnered Oscars buzz. Still, Emancipation star Will Smith (whose Oscars slap led to the actor’s ban from the ceremony for 10 years) will unlikely receive Academy accolades for his performance. 

Will Smith ‘avoided slavery’ themes until Antoine Fuqua proposed ‘Emancipation’

Antoine Fuqua movie Emancipation: Will Smith sits in a wooden cell
Will Smith | Apple TV+

Based on a famous historical photo, Emancipation follows Will Smith’s character, Peter, as he escapes the South after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Following a harrowing journey through the Louisiana swamps, “Whipped Peter” (whose real name is believed to be Gordon) arrived at a Union encampment in 1863, “exhausted, near-starving, and wearing only rags,” the BBC reports. Yet Gordon enlisted in the Union Army immediately. The photo was reportedly snapped during his medical examination to become a soldier.