'12 Years a Slave' star, director react to Golden Globe nominations

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Steve McQueen's harrowing portrait of a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery racked up seven Golden Globe nominations on Thursday, an unsurprising feat for a film hailed by critics as the best ever made on the subject.

McQueen, who picked up a Globe nod for Best Director, could be the first African-American filmmaker to win an Oscar.

"Thank you very much to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for acknowledging our efforts in making 12 Years A Slave," McQueen said in a statement. "I am delighted for my cast and crew who worked so hard on this film to shine a light on a forgotten American hero, Solomon Northup."

McQueen told Vulture on Sunday that he doesn't see 12 Years as a film about slavery.

“It’s a narrative about today,” he said. “It’s not a black movie. It’s an American movie. It’s a narrative about human respect, more than anything.”

Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Soloman Northrup in the film, also thanked the HFPA for two acting nominations -- one for 12 Years a Slave and one for his BBC series Dancing on the Edge.

It is such a huge honour to be nominated for two Golden Globes and I would like to thank the members of the HFPA for this incredible recognition. The response to 12 Years A Slave and Dancing On The Edge from the public and media alike has been overwhelming and I am so very grateful. To have been a part of these amazing projects was a gift in itself, that the HFPA have responded in this way, truly means so much.

[MTV, Vulture]