US slave uprising drama to be released in the middle of awards season; new trailer released.

The Birth of a Nation

Nate Parker’s The Birth Of A Nation is set to be released in the UK on Jan 20, 2017, in what is expected to be part of a major awards season push for the period drama.

Fox Searchlight UK, which will distribute the film, also released a new trailer for the feature that stars Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Aja Naomi King and Gabrielle Union.

Set against the antebellum South, The Birth Of A Nation follows Nat Turner (Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (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 film, which marks Parker’s directorial debut, debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January where it won the grand jury prize and audience awards.

It was also at Sundance that Fox Searchlight swooped on worldwide rights, reportedly paying $17.5m - making it the biggest ever on-site deal in Park City.

The film has not been seen since, suggesting it will screen as part of Venice or Toronto film festivals ahead of its Oct 7 release in the US.

The Birth Of A Nation is expected to play a major part of the upcoming awards season.