At Sundance this year, everyone was talking about The Birth of a Nation, the film produced, written and directed by and starring Nate Parker. Parker worked for years to make this film, about Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia, and the result was apparently a cinematic masterpiece. The critics at Sundance were already saying that the film would win all the Oscars. The film will be released in October, which seems to be the sweet spot for potential Best Picture winners these days. Nate Parker is going to be the centerpiece of the Oscar campaign too, for sure, and Hollywood is already eager to reward Parker given the past few years of #OscarsSoWhite.
But there’s a problem. And it’s no small thing. When attending Penn State in 1999, Nate Parker and his roommate Jean McGianni Celestin (who is co-writer on Nation) were charged with the rape of a fellow student. The woman claimed that Celestin and Parker raped her after she passed out from drinking too much. The men claimed the sex was consensual. Both men were put on trial. Parker was acquitted and Celestin was initially found guilty, but the guilty verdict was set aside on appeal. As soon as The Birth of a Nation made waves at Sundance, their past began to be introduced in press pieces. The court case was and is public record and reporters are waiting for the film to be released to really talk about what happened. Basically, everything about these two stories – the story of the film and the story of what happened at Penn State – is a ticking time bomb of hot-button issues and controversy, set to blow up in October when the film is released.
So I can see why Nate Parker is attempting to do damage control months ahead of the film’s release. Parker sat down for a lengthy interview with Deadline and there are no hidden motivations to this. He’s trying to talk about what happened at Penn State in the hopes that his past doesn’t ruin his film’s future. You can read the entire Deadline piece here, and Deadline included some links to the 1999 court documents too. Here’s what Parker says about the rape trial and who he is now:
“I was sure it would come up. It is there, on my Wikipedia page, the Virginia Pilot … I stand here, a 36-year-old man, 17 years removed from one of the most painful … [he wells up at the memory] moments in my life. And I can imagine it was painful, for everyone. I was cleared of everything, of all charges. I’ve done a lot of living, and raised a lot of children. I’ve got five daughters and a lovely wife. My mom lives here with me; I brought her here. I’ve got four younger sisters.”
“Women have been such an important part of my life. I try, every day, to be a better father to my daughters, and a better husband… The reality is, this is a serious issue, a very serious issue, and the fact that there is a dialogue going on right now around the country is paramount. It is critical. The fact we are making moves and taking action to protect women on campuses and off campuses, and educating men and persecuting them when things come up. … I want women to stand up, to speak out when they feel violated, in every degree, as I prepare to take my own daughter to college.”
“I will not relive that period of my life every time I go under the microscope. What do I do? When you have a certain level of success, when things start to work, things go under the microscope and become bigger and bigger things. I can’t control people; I can’t control the way people feel. What I can do is be the most honorable man I can be. Live my life with the most integrity that I can, stand against injustice everywhere I see it, lead charges against injustice against people of color, against the LGBT community. That’s me. The black community is my community, the LGBT community too, and the female community. That is my community. That me, it’s who I am. When I made this film, I said, ‘If you’ve got injustice, this is your film. And I’m coming.’ That is the legacy I want to leave behind. I can’t change anything. You move forward, and every moment you’re alive, you’re living in the moment. I continue to fight for what’s important to me and I will, no matter how deeply I go under this microscope, no matter how bright the spotlight, I will fight against injustice in everything I do. And I will raise children and try to leave a legacy that points to that desire to see the changes happen that I’ve fought for.”
The entire Deadline piece is worth a read – in addition to the interview with Parker, they got a statement from Celestin. Plus, the article does an in-depth analysis about how Parker’s past might affect the potential (or eventual) Oscar campaign. I read the entire piece very carefully and… I still don’t know how I feel. My gut says to believe the victim. My gut says that back in 1999, it was even more difficult to bring rape charges against men, so for the men to go to trial (and for one of those men to be convicted), the prosecution had a solid case. But I also think that it should mean something that Parker was not convicted. As I said, I don’t know how to feel. Ugh.
Here are some photos of Nate Parker posing for GQ a week ago. I imagine this will probably be a cover shoot? I hate to break it to Parker, but this Deadline interview isn’t going to be the last time he has to talk about this. GQ will want to talk about it. As will every trade paper and magazine.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
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