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The Birth of a Nation

Not who you're looking for? Others named The Birth of a Nation: 1915 film directed by D. W. Griffith

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Overview

The Birth of a Nation is a 2016 American period drama film written and directed by Nate Parker in his directorial debut. It is based on the story of Nat Turner, the enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. The film stars Parker as Turner, with Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jackie Earle Haley in supporting roles. Parker also petitioned financiers to invest in the film, ultimately getting an $8.5 million in production budget, and started filming in May 2015 in Georgia. The film's title is an ironic callback to the 1915 KKK-focused silent film of the same name. The Birth of a Nation premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where Fox Searchlight Pictures bought worldwide rights to the film in a $17.5 million deal (at the time the largest deal at the festival), and won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 7, 2016, and grossed $16 million, receiving positive reviews from critics, with praise for its directing, acting, soundtrack, and cinematography. Because The Birth of a Nation attracted increased attention during its festival run, there was significant press coverage of a 1999 alleged rape that Parker and co-story writer Jean McGianni Celestin were accused of having committed, and the fact that the accuser committed suicide in 2012. While Parker was acquitted and Celestin was not retried after his conviction was overturned on appeal, the controversy surrounding the alleged rape and Parker's initial responses to the controversy cast a shadow over the film. Plot In 1809, on a plantation in Southampton County, Virginia, Nat Turner is a young slave boy. Due to limited food for their children, Nat's father, Isaac, ventures out one night to steal something for his son to eat. However, he is apprehended by a posse led by slave-catcher Raymond Cobb. When Cobb attempts to execute Isaac, he turns the tables, killing one member of the posse, and escapes. Upon returning home, Isaac informs his family of the incident and the need for his immediate departure. Before leaving, he shares a final conversation with Nat, emphasizing that he is "a child of God" with a purpose. When Cobb arrives and interrogates Isaac's family about his whereabouts, they remain silent.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Not who you're looking for? Others named The Birth of a Nation: 1915 film directed by D. W. Griffith

Overview

The Birth of a Nation is a 2016 American period drama film written and directed by Nate Parker in his directorial debut. It is based on the story of Nat Turner, the enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. The film stars Parker as Turner, with Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jackie Earle Haley in supporting roles. Parker also petitioned financiers to invest in the film, ultimately getting an $8.5 million in production budget, and started filming in May 2015 in Georgia. The film's title is an ironic callback to the 1915 KKK-focused silent film of the same name. The Birth of a Nation premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where Fox Searchlight Pictures bought worldwide rights to the film in a $17.5 million deal (at the time the largest deal at the festival), and won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 7, 2016, and grossed $16 million, receiving positive reviews from critics, with praise for its directing, acting, soundtrack, and cinematography. Because The Birth of a Nation attracted increased attention during its festival run, there was significant press coverage of a 1999 alleged rape that Parker and co-story writer Jean McGianni Celestin were accused of having committed, and the fact that the accuser committed suicide in 2012. While Parker was acquitted and Celestin was not retried after his conviction was overturned on appeal, the controversy surrounding the alleged rape and Parker's initial responses to the controversy cast a shadow over the film. Plot In 1809, on a plantation in Southampton County, Virginia, Nat Turner is a young slave boy. Due to limited food for their children, Nat's father, Isaac, ventures out one night to steal something for his son to eat. However, he is apprehended by a posse led by slave-catcher Raymond Cobb. When Cobb attempts to execute Isaac, he turns the tables, killing one member of the posse, and escapes. Upon returning home, Isaac informs his family of the incident and the need for his immediate departure. Before leaving, he shares a final conversation with Nat, emphasizing that he is "a child of God" with a purpose. When Cobb arrives and interrogates Isaac's family about his whereabouts, they remain silent.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).