02 September 2016
Newsdesk
Embattled actor/director Nate Parker's acclaimed new movie The Birth of a Nation will receive its European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
The movie broke distribution records at this year's (16) Sundance Film Festival in Utah and immediately became an Oscars frontrunner but Parker's success has been overshadowed by scrutiny surrounding a 1999 rape trial.
The filmmaker and his Birth of a Nation collaborator and former college roommate Jean Celestin were accused of sexual assault by an 18-year-old female classmate while studying at Penn State University in Pennsylvania.
Parker was later acquitted in a 2001 trial, while Celestin was initially found guilty and sentenced to serve six months behind bars. His conviction was later overturned following an appeal.
News of the drama resurfaced earlier this summer when Parker told Variety.com, "Seventeen years ago, I experienced a very painful moment in my life. It resulted in it being litigated. I was cleared of it. That's that. Seventeen years later, I'm a filmmaker. I have a family. I have five beautiful daughters. I have a lovely wife. I get it.
"The reality is... I can't relive 17 years ago. All I can do is be the best man I can be now."
It has since emerged his alleged victim committed suicide in 2012.
A planned American Film Institute screening of Birth of a Nation has been cancelled following the renewed uproar over his past rape allegations, but London Film Festival bosses plan to press on with their premiere as part of the annual movie celebrations in October.
Festival director Clare Stewart says, "For me it's one of the significant films of the year... It's an incredibly important film. It's not for me to make any further comment about the controversy surrounding the director."
The film festival line-up also includes screenings of Oliver Stone's Edward Snowden biopic, and Academy Awards Best Film contenders La La Land, which opened the Venice Film Festival in Italy this week (beg29Aug16), and Manchester by the Sea.
