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

At Ford’s mill, enslaved workers stack and cut timber under overseer Adam Taydem while Tibeats works as a carpenter.

Scene 93 of 211 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 57 min into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 93

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.
Scene 86
Ford takes Solomon, Harry, and Eliza from Freeman; Eliza is dragged away from Emily, committing Solomon to plantation life and its family separations.
Scene 87
Ford brings Solomon and the other captives into plantation life; Solomon must survive within a system that denies his identity.
Just before
Scene 90
Solomon and John join Walton’s gang in the sweltering woods, chopping trees into timber with Sam and Harry.
Scene 91
The gang loads the cut timber onto a wagon in the heat.
Scene 92
Walton drives the timber wagon toward the mill as the enslaved workers trudge alongside it.
Scene 93
This scene

93EXT. FORD'S MILL - LATER

It is a sizable mill on the edge of Indian Creek. There is much work being done, the slaves primarily employed in piling the timber and chopping it into lumber. As before, there is little doubt about the rigors of the job at hand.

At the mill the slaves are overseen by ADAM TAYDEM. Working as a carpenter at the mill is JOHN TIBEATS. There are also various CUSTOMERS who move about placing orders.