After receiving a historic standing ovation following its premiere at the 2016 Sundance Festival, Birth of a Nation was just acquired by Fox Searchlight for a record breaking $17.5 million, The Wrap reports.
The site states this is the biggest sum an entity like Fox has paid in the existence of Sundance. The company is also responsible for the release of 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Picture at the 2014 Oscars.
The lens depicts the story of Nat Turner, an African-American slave who led a historic slave rebellion in 1831 Virginia. In a Q&A segment following the motion picture’s debut, Parker said his main reason for creating this film was “with the hope of creating change agents. That people can watch this film and be affected. That you can watch this film and see that there were systems that were in place that were corrupt and corrupted people and the legacy of that still lives with us.”
There’s no release date yet, but other actors/actresses set to star alongside Parker include How To Get Away With Murder‘s Aja Naomi King, Being Mary Jane‘s Gabrielle Union and Quantico‘s Aunjanue Ellis.