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As we enter 2014, award season is just around the corner. Director Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is definitely one of the front-runners.

"12 Years a Slave" is based on the 1853 memoir¹ of Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery. The harrowing historical epic² has not only garnered³ considerable critical praise, it has also sparked a discussion about diversity in film.

"Slavery lasted 400 years and how many movies have been made about slavery? You know maybe, I was told by historians less than 20 movies about American slavery have been made," McQueen said.

"The Second World War lasted five years and hundreds and hundreds of movies have been made about the Second World War and the Holocaust⁴. So just putting that in perspective I think there has been more films about Spartacus and Roman slavery than that has actually been about, you know, slavery."

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Northup in Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave".

However, McQueen is adamant⁵ that he didn's choose the story as a way to promote diversity on the silver screen.

"It's a good time period I mean, you know, period. I never really see people in that sense...again I just want equal opportunity for everyone so therefore if there're more black people in films, then great," he said. "I want more women directors for example, so it's just a case of having a situation where it's much more of a real reflection of the world, that's all."

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Northup, a violinist taken from his family and put into servitude on plantations⁶, all the while unable to contact his home or even proclaim his true identity. He agrees with the director that all stories have their own intrinsic value, and have the right to be told.

"I think as many different films as possible are terrific. I don's think that one cancels out the other. As soon as I read Solomon's story I felt like I couldn't believe I didn't know about this story and I thought it was one of the most exceptional stories, one of the most amazing stories I ever read anywhere about anything, so I was thrilled and excited to tell the story," Ejiofor said.

"12 Years a Slave" has been screened at various film festivals in 2013, and is set to be released in the UK and Ireland on Friday.