‘Harriet’ Producer Debra Martin Chase on Her 7-Year Fight to Get the Film Made: “As Hollywood Changes, the World Changed”

“Harriet is not a movie about slavery,” Producer Debra Martin Chase said “It’s a movie about freedom and empowerment. It really is about one woman’s drive to change her life and the world.”

The biopic took Martin Chase seven years to bring to the screen, saying, “Anytime you’re telling a story that may be a little bit out of the mainstream, it’s difficult. When you’re telling a story about a historical black woman, it’s really tough. Seven years ago, people were glazed over when I brought it up.”

She continued: “As times change, as Hollywood changes, the world changed. People became more receptive to the idea that a movie starring a black woman (who will be someday on the face of the $20 bill) might be commercial [or] have the potential to be.”

Martin Chase went on to say that Harriet was ultimately worth fighting for, despite all the setbacks and pushbacks noting the film is, “About a woman who couldn’t read, couldn’t write, was destined to be a slave her entire life and decided, ‘No, that’s not gonna be my destiny.’ If people can get that message, that they can control what happens in their lives, that’s an important thing, and that’s worth fighting for.”