There are films that merely dominate the conversation out of the Sundance Film Festival. And then there is Nate Parker’s “Birth Of A Nation” which overwhelmed it. It’s a drama about one of the devastating, bloodiest slave revolts in American history, in which actor turned writer/director Parker seized the ripe, anti #OscarSoWhite narrative at Sundance and never looked back. And the audience was ready: “Birth Of A Nation” received a standing ovation of the kind that Park City has rarely seen.
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Moreover, Parker’s film made such a splash that the picture sold for $14 million to Fox Searchlight, which by all accounts is an inflated price thanks to streaming invaders like Amazon and Netflix, and the highest sold picture at Sundance ever. Here’s the official synopsis:
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
Co-starring Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith and Gabrielle Union, “Birth Of A Nation” will open in the heart of Oscar season on October 7 in a platform release. Watch the new trailer below (or above) and weigh in below.
