After Hunger and Shame, all eyes are on Brit director Steve McQueen's latest offering and you may have gathered from all the awards nominations, it's an impressive piece of work.
Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup, a real-life New Yorker who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841.
This gripping, challenging drama follows his fate as he is passed from a relatively kind slave master, Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) to the despotic Edwin (Michael Fassbender).
All the performances are fantastic but it's newcomer and ELLE interviewee Lupita Nyong'o who's the biggest discovery, putting in a sensitive and memorable turn as abused slave, Patsey.
The casting of producer Brad Pitt as Northup's potential saviour seems a bit self-congratulatory, but that's a small issue: this remains a profoundly moving and involving film that's also likely to win awards for its stunning cinematography.
12 Years A Slave is in cinemas 10 January
