Our first glimpse of Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is here and does’t disappoint.
The Nat Turner biopic, which is seven years in the making, premiered at Sundance earlier this year and set off a record-breaking bidding war between Fox Searchlight Pictures and Netflix for worldwide rights with a $17.5 million bid.
The trailer is set to the song Andra Day’s “Rise Up” and displays very powerful and intense imagery of slavery that could bring tears to your eyes. It shows one of the most talked about scenes at Sundance — a little while girl leading a black girl around the yard by a leash made of rope.
The film won the Audience Award for a U.S. Drama and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and stars Parker as Nat Turner, who led a 48-hour slave rebellion against his white masters. Armie Hammer and Aja Naomi King co-star alongside Jackie Earle Haley and Jayson Warner Smith. Parker also produced, wrote and directed.
The Birth of a Nation hits theatres Oct. 7.