Maryland, 1840s. Araminta “Minty” Ross is a young enslaved woman on the Brodess plantation, where she lives with her mother and a sister, while other sisters have already been sold to another owner. Newly married to John Tubman, a free man, she and her family try to secure the freedom they believe was promised to them under an old agreement, but the owner refuses and tensions on the farm rise. Minty, who has suffered visions since a childhood head injury, begins to consider an escape that will change her life and those around her. The film follows her path toward a new identity and her decision to return and help others.

How it was made

The project had been in development for years. In 2015 Viola Davis was announced to star in and produce a Tubman biopic, but it never came to fruition. In February 2017 Cynthia Erivo was cast in the lead, with a screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard, and later Kasi Lemmons took over as director and co-wrote the final script with Howard. Filming took place in Virginia, in towns such as Richmond, Powhatan, Cumberland, Petersburg and Mathews, from October to December 2018. The Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County stood in for Auburn, New York. Terence Blanchard composed the score and John Toll shot the photography.

Reception and legacy

Harriet premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2019 and opened in US cinemas on 1 November, distributed by Focus Features. Critics praised Erivo's performance, though many found the film earnest but somewhat conventional in its form. Erivo earned nominations at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the song “Stand Up”, written with Joshuah Brian Campbell, received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Stills

Trailer

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Trivia

An earlier biopic

Viola Davis was attached to star in and produce a Tubman biopic in 2015, but the project took years to reach the screen with a different lead.

A change of director

Seith Mann was initially set to direct after Erivo was cast, but the job ultimately went to Kasi Lemmons, who had previously directed Black Nativity.

More films by Kasi Lemmons

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody2022

The Caveman's Valentine2001

Black Nativity2013

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