Hope of Escape (2024)

The patriarch of a rice plantation abruptly dies and his next of kin feud over the assets. A house servant all her life, Diana and her daughter are at the mercy of their new master who is conflicted about following his dead father's wishes - that Diana should be free. As an alternative to the conventional Hollywood portrayal of slavery, the film diverges from the prevailing Hollywood trope of excessive violence and victimization. Instead, it delves into the lesser-known facet of slavery, the "above-ground Underground Railroad," a clandestine movement where enslaved individuals were liberated through ransom payments to their masters (by their families, mostly in the North), akin to Frederick Douglass's path to freedom. Hope of Escape highlights the resilience of both free and enslaved families who, despite being separated by time and thousands of miles, managed to keep their connections, holding onto the hope of a brighter future.