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Fox Searchlight released the first trailer of the eagerly anticipated Sundance Film Festival sensation The Birth of a Nation on Friday, Variety reports.

The film is set in the slave-holding South during the 1830s. It tells the story of Nat Turner, a literate Black preacher who makes a deal with his cash-strapped master to convince disobedient slaves to conform to their bondage. But after witnessing one too many atrocities, Turner leads a mass slave rebellion.

Scenes in this powerful trailer unfold to Nina Simone’s rendition of Billie Holiday’s iconic “Strange Fruit,” a haunting song about hangings in the South.

Nate Parker won this year’s CinemaCon Breakthrough Director of the Year award for this film, which he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in. The Birth of a Nation also won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for drama at Sundance.

Fox Searchlight acquired the biopic for $17.5 million—a record deal for a Sundance flick, according to Variety. It’s scheduled to open in theaters on Oct. 7.

SOURCE: Variety | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO SOURCE:

SEE ALSO:

Sundance History: Nate Parker’s “Birth Of A Nation” Sets Record With $17.5 Mil Fox Searchlight Sale

Director Nate Parker To Launch Film School At Wiley College

WATCH: “The Birth Of A Nation” Trailer  was originally published on newsone.com