It was a clean sweep for Nate Parker at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
CBS News reports that Parker took home the festival’s top two prizes—the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award—for his Nat Turner period film, The Birth of a Nation.
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“Thank you, Sundance, for creating a platform for us to grow, in spite of what the rest of Hollywood is doing,” Parker said while accepting the awards.
The film chronicles the 19th century slave rebellion led by Turner. Parker, who wrote, directed, and starred in the flick, previously told the Hollywood Reporter that he had gone to great lengths to get the movie made—at one point, he told his agent that he refused to take any more roles until he was able to play Turner.
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His persistence and dedication paid off—last week, Fox Searchlight purchased the movie for $17.5 million, making it the largest sale in Sundance history.
Congrats, Nate—we can’t wait to see your passion project!