Nate Parker Leads an Uprising in First Full ‘The Birth of a Nation’ Trailer

As soon as Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation premiered at Sundance earlier this year, the film immediately joined the Oscar conversation. Sometimes film festival praise can be excessive, but by the looks of the first teaser and the latest full trailer for the movie, it’s easy to see why Parker’s passion project has garnered so much awards buzz.

Written, directed by, and starring Parker, The Birth of a Nation follows Parker as Nat Turner, the real-life man who led a slave rebellion in Virginia 1831. In the trailer Nat’s white owner (played by Armie Hammer) has Nat preach to unruly slaves to keep them calm. While the new trailer features some previously unseen heavy and violent footage, it has more of an uplifting tone than the teaser thanks to being scored by Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”

The Birth of a Nation received multiple standing ovations after it premiered at Sundance and got glowing reviews from critics. Parker’s film won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the fest and sold to Fox Searchlight for a record-breaking $17.5 million. With so much praise there’s no doubting you’ll be hearing a lot more about Parker’s passion project as we get closer to the fall movie season. The Birth of a Nation, which also stars Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jackie Early Haley, opens October 7.