Sundance Roars for a Black Film, and Fox Searchlight Bids $17 Million

PARK CITY, Utah — With the outcry over an all-white field of acting nominees for the coming Academy Awards, and the shutout of several films focused on black characters from the best picture race, Hollywood has come under extreme pressure in recent weeks to find more prestige-minded movies with diverse casts.

And this week at the Sundance Film Festival, Nate Parker delivered one.

“The Birth of a Nation,” a blistering slave-revolt drama that Mr. Parker wrote and directed (along with playing the lead character), had its premiere here Monday afternoon. Critics responded with instant rapture. By Tuesday morning, Fox Searchlight had won a bidding war for the distribution rights by offering an astounding $17.5 million — a Sundance record. Underscoring the aggressive arrival of streaming services like Amazon and Netflix on the Sundance scene, in many cases driving up prices, Netflix made an even more lavish offer, according to a person involved...READ MORE