<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $8.5 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $16.8 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Birth of a Nation is a 2016 American - Canadian period drama film based on the story of Nat Turner, the enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831 . Co-written, co-produced and directed by Nate Parker (in his directorial debut), the film stars Parker as Turner, with Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Junior, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King, Dwight Henry, Jackie Earle Haley, Esther Scott, Penelope Ann Miller, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Gabrielle Union in supporting roles . Parker also petitioned financiers to invest in the film, ultimately getting an $8.5 million production budget, and started filming in May 2015 in Georgia . </P> <P> The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2016 . Fox Searchlight Pictures bought worldwide rights to the film in a $17.5 million deal, the largest deal at the film festival to date . At the end of the festival, the film won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition and was highly praised for its directing, acting, soundtrack and cinematography . The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 7, 2016 by Fox Searchlight Pictures and grossed $16 million . </P>

What is the movie birth of a nation about