Writer-director-actor Nate Parker screened his highly anticipated slave-rebellion drama The Birth of a Nation at this week’s Sundance Film Festival. The impending bidding war resulted in a $17.5 million sale to Fox Searchlight, transforming the Nat Turner biopic into the largest purchase in Sundance history.

According to Variety, studios like The Weinstein Company, Netflix and Sony competed into the night for the rights to The Birth of a Nation, with Fox Searchlight coming out triumphant. Fox Searchlight was also responsible for the Academy Award winning 12 Years a Slave, another drama about American slavery. The slave revolt drama stars Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Junior, Jackie Earle Haley and Penelope Ann Miller.