Spike Lee champions Nate Parker’s new movie about police killing

Aug 12, 2019

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Nate Parker’s American Skin is slated to show at the Venice Film Festival marking his first return to the screen after Birth of a Nation tanked due to a college assault scandal.

—Black father and son chased by white man on horse draped in confederate flag and carrying a rope—

Parker was at the center of a sexual assault controversy three years ago due to renewed interest in a 1999 rape case in which he was ultimately acquitted. The woman who accused Parker and another fellow student of assault later went on to commit suicide.

The new feature deals with a cop shooting Parker’s character’s son and the father taking the law into his own hands with his own brand of street justice, Variety reports.

Parker plays a Marine veteran janitor who takes a police precinct hostage and holds a mock trial while the inmates serve as the jury. Sources likened the movie to “12 Angry Men,” the outlet reports.

According to the film’s description:

“Lincoln Johnson, a Marine veteran who works as a school janitor attempts to mend his relationship with his son after a divorce. One day his son is killed by a police officer that is found innocent without standing trial. Johnson then takes matters into his own hands.”

—Black father shot dead by white man after white supremacist rant—

Oscar winner Spike Lee offered support online for Nate Parker’s sophomore project.

“My brother, Nate Parker, has concocted a BRAVE TOUR DE FORCE. I haven’t been affected by a film like this on so many levels in a long, long time,” he said in a statement. “It is my hope and prayer that the movie audience will understand this battle between LOVE and HATE, which has divided our world. Bravo Nate, Bravo.”

Lee will also reportedly conduct a Q&A with Parker after the film premieres at the festival.

The movie stars Parker, Omari Hardwick, Larry Sullivan, Theo Rossi and Beau Knapp.

The 76th Venice International Film Festival is scheduled for August 28 to September 7 2019.