Nate Parker produces, writes, directs and stars in this provocatively named and extraordinarily powerful historical drama chronicling the slave rebellion in the southern US led by Nat Turner in 1831.
At a young age, Turner was recognized as a smart boy and groomed to be a preacher for other black slaves. In Parker’s telling, the young Turner leads a relatively sheltered life: while forced to pick cotton like the rest of his family and friends, he is protected to a large degree by his long-standing friendship with his owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), with whom Nat grew up. But when his increasingly brutal master lends Nat to other slave owners so Turner can use his pacifistic Biblical message to keep unruly slaves in check, the vicious reality he sees—and which Parker ably conveys—proves too much for him. He sets about organizing the violent rebellion that reverberates in the American psyche to this day…
Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, Sundance 16
Watch trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzQwOvjRds
For more information and tickets, visit viff.org
