12 Years a Slave · written by John Ridley and Steve McQueen · 2013

Two young children pause their washing to stare at the newly arrived captives, then run off.

Scene 88 of 211 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 56 min into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 88

After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.

Scenes 1–29
Solomon lives freely in Saratoga as a husband, father, worker, and musician.
Scenes 30–65
Kidnapped and held under the imposed name Platt, Solomon must preserve his life and identity.
Just before
Scene 85
Solomon and Eliza survive smallpox but bear scars; Eliza has lost Randall and is emotionally devastated.
Scene 86
Freeman says Emily cannot be sold, but Ford says he will take them. Eliza is dragged away crying as Solomon plays to cover the separation.
Scene 87
Ford brings Solomon, John, and Eliza to his plantation; while Eliza grieves her lost children, Ford assigns the men to mill work and sends them to Sally’s cabin.
Scene 88
This scene

88EXT. FORD PLANTATION/SALLY'S CABIN - MOMENTS LATER

The group rounds the house to Sally's cabin. There are TWO YOUNG CHILDREN - naked, having been in the middle of getting washed - playing in the grass. As the group arrives, the kids jump up and toddle toward them, look at them "as though they were a brace of rabbits," then run off.