'Birth Of A Nation' Director Nate Parker To Launch Film School

Filmmaker Nate Parker announced that he intends to launch a film school this coming fall at Wiley College in Texas. The Birth Of A Nation director told reporters over the weekend that the East Texas school will give students a wide-ranging variety of coursework as it pertains to filmmaking, Variety reports.

In an interview with The Root, Parker detailed plans for the upcoming school, which includes basic introduction to the industry itself and a broader study of how films are made as students progress.

Variety reports:

“The hope is that we cover all aspects of filmmaking, from sound, lighting and cinematography, to just studying film specifically with the cultural component and the history of film,” Parker said in an interview with The Root.

“You control the moving picture, you control the masses. So really getting them rallied around the idea of reclaiming the narrative of America, specifically through the eyes of people of color,” Parker continued.

Parker’s starred in the 2007 film “The Great Debaters,” which was set at the college in 1930. He used the college’s a capella choir for the soundtrack of his Sundance hit “The Birth of a Nation.”

The school will launch a pilot program for about 30 high school and college students.

The announcement of Parker and Wiley College’s collaborative effort was announced via social media as well:

SOURCE: Variety | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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