“12 years a Slave” director Steve McQueen wants to remind the world that slavery is not just a phenomenon of the past.
The Oscar-nominated British director was named a patron of Anti-Slavery International — the world’s oldest human rights organization — in London on Monday.
He accepted the honor at the charity’s headquarters in Brixton, then headed to Westminster, where he met with members of Parliament, including Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.
McQueen said, in a reference to American slave Solomon Northup, whose 1853 biography is the basis for his Oscar-nominated movie: “Right now, there are Solomon Northups in every region of the world who have been taken away from their families and placed in slavery. I hope that, 150 years from now, a film will not be made about our ambivalence to slavery. We have to do something about it.”
The director then hosted a private viewing of “12 Years a Slave” for members of Parliament.