Nate Parker’s ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ Enters Next Year’s Awards Race With A Fall 2016 Release Date
The $17.5 million that Fox Searchlight paid forThe Birth of a Nationwas the single biggest deal in Sundance history. So of course the distributor has huge plans for the movie — including, it appears, a bid for next year’s awards race. Fox Searchlight has just announced a fall 2016 release date forNate Parker’s slave drama, which lit up this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
TheWrap reportsThe Birth of a Nationwill open nationwide onOctober 7, 2016. Other films set for that weekend Tate Taylor’s literary adaptationThe Girl on the Train, starring Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson; and Gavin O’Connor’s thrillerThe Accountant, starring Ben Affleck. (TheX-MenspinoffGambitis also currently dated for October 7, but given its behind-the-scenes struggles we expect it’ll be delayed before we get there.)
The Birth of a Nationstars Parker as Nat Turner, the slave who led a rebellion in pre-Civil War Virginia. The film chronicles Nat’s life from childhood to his early death, showing us how an earnestly devout preacher came to spark the bloodiest slave rebellion in American history. The solid supporting cast includesArmie Hammeras Nat’s master andAja Naomi Kingas Nat’s wife.
Parker put his acting career on hold to write and directThe Birth of a Nation— his first time helming a full-length feature — and his work has paid off handsomely.The Birth of a Nationwas one of the buzziest titles at this year’s Sundance, and took home the Grand Jury prize at the end of the fest. I was one of many critics who saw and loved the film at Sundance; here’s an excerpt frommy review:
Comparisons to12 Years a Slavewill be inevitable, but in truthBirth of a Nationcomplements, rather than competes with, the other recent slave drama.12 Years a Slavewas the horrifying true tale of a free man forced into slavery.Birth of a Nationis the equally horrifying, equally true tale of a man who’s never enjoyed a single day of freedom in his life. To Nat, bondage isn’t a shocking turn of events; it’s simply his life as it always was and always will be. In that sense, it’s actually a bit likeSpotlight, another recent story of insiders gradually coming to realize their own complacency in the face of unspeakable horrors, and deciding to do something about it.
We’re still a year out from next year’s Oscars, so it’s far too early to say whetherThe Birth of a Nationwill end up being a serious contender in the 2017 awards race. We’ve seen lots of films dominate the conversation at Sundance, only to fizzle when they actually hit theaters. (Remember howMe and Earl and the Dying Girlwas supposed to be last year’s breakout hit?) But at the very least, it looks like Fox Searchlight is hoping to getThe Birth of a Nationinto the conversation.
