Teaser trailer released for Nate Parker’s celebrated film ‘The Birth of a Nation’

LOS ANGELES, April 16 (UPI) — Fox Searchlight has released a teaser trailer for its critically acclaimed, historical drama The Birth of a Nation.

The film is scheduled for release Oct. 7.

“Set against the antebellum South, The Birth of a Nation follows Nat Turner [played by Nate Parker,] a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner [played by Armie Hammer,] accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves,” said a synopsis accompanying the 2-minute clip. “As he witnesses countless atrocities — against himself and his fellow slaves — Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.”

Parker wrote and directed the film, which earned the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award earlier this year.