2016 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner. Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

The Avalon added THE BIRTH OF A NATION to our schedule before learning of the 1999 rape case involving director/writer/star Nate Parker and co-writer Jean Celestin, or of the resulting controversy it has generated. As a Sundance Grand Jury Award winner with significant critical acclaim, THE BIRTH OF A NATION was a film that, at the time, we felt our audience members would want to see.
 
The decision whether to keep this film on our schedule came after a period of intense discussion amongst our staff and industry colleagues that raised many challenging issues. To what extent should artists’ personal lives be separated from their work? Is it possible to evaluate a work of art without considering the political, sexual, and racial dynamics of the culture that produced it? Should exhibitors attempt to exert influence over the behavior of others who work in the film industry by refusing to play a controversial film?
 
These are complicated and thorny questions, to which we do not have easy answers. We feel that you, our patrons, should have the opportunity to see the film and make your own judgments. Thus, we are keeping the film on our schedule.
 
We welcome your feedback and comments.