The Birth of a Nation Gets Release Date

The Birth of a Nation was one of the biggest hits at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, winning the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize. Director Nate Parker’s biographical film about an 1831 slave rebellion was picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures for a record-breaking $17.5 million. Mainstream American audiences will finally be able to see the film on October 7, 2016 when it opens nationwide.

Read the film’s synopsis below:

“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.”

If The Birth of a Nation lives up to the incredible buzz, it just might be an Oscar favorite next year.