One of 2016’s most anticipated films has set a release date. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Birth of a Nation will debut in theaters across the states on Oct. 7.
Written and directed by the film’s lead star, Nate Parker, the gripping motion picture was received with praise at Sundance Film Festival. It also made history as the most expensive film purchased by a movie house (Fox Searchlight) in Sundance’s existence.
Starring Gabrielle Union, Jackie Earle Haley, Aja Naomi King, Penelope Ann Miller and Armie Hammer, the movie will depict the story of Nat Turner and how he commanded the slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831.
On the beginning stages of creating this film, Parker said during a Q&A that he wanted to make The Birth of a Nation “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.” He later continued, “I just want you, if you are affected and you are so moved, to ask yourself, ‘Are there systems in my life that need attention whether it be racial, gender?’ There are a lot of injustices.”