David Strathairn Joins Kevin Willmott’s 'The Bard' — A Film About a Forgotten Poet Worth Remembering
Forgotten lines of freedom find new life in film.
Following projects that shed light on overlooked figures has always fascinated me, and The Bard is exactly that kind of film. Kevin Willmott, the Oscar-winning co-writer of BlacKkKlansman, is directing a drama about George Moses Horton, the enslaved poet who became the first black man published in America.
The cast, led by David Gyasi, now welcomes Julia Schlaepfer (1923), Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones), and David Strathairn (Nomadland). With filming in North Carolina, it feels like the rare drama that reminds us why cinema matters.
Horton’s Voice on Screen
Born into slavery, Horton taught himself to read, sold verses to UNC students, and risked his life to publish The Hope of Liberty. Willmott’s script, co-written with E. Paul Edwards, traces both his lyrical love poems and bold anti-slavery protests. It reminds us that speaking freely has never been without consequence.
A Cast With Weight
Gyasi takes the lead, but casting Strathairn, McElhatton and Schlaepfer signals ambition. Around them, Joseph Lee Anderson, Jay R. Ferguson, Adina Porter and Dylan Arnold round out the ensemble — a mix of new voices and seasoned gravitas. It suggests this won’t be a dusty biopic, but something alive.
Why Horton’s Story Endures
Not every film about the past feels fresh, but this one does. Horton’s words were fragile and risky, yet powerful enough to echo centuries later. The Bard offers a chance to hear them again, in a medium that can carry them even further.
