Black men and women getting killed by police
and getting away scott free is a narrative our community is all too familiar
with. In 2014, following the death of Michael Brown, Nate Parker traveled to
Ferguson, Missouri to gain a better understanding of the tensions between law
enforcement and young men and women of color. The most tragic moment of this
trip arrived when he stood downtown between two infuriated groups of citizens.
From one side came yells of ‘Justice for Mike Brown’ and on the other ‘Support
Our Police’. It became clear to him, instantly, the disconnect in our
understanding of citizenship, law enforcement, and our responsibility to
preserve American life. As an American
citizen, father, brother, son and artist, Nate felt compelled to use his
platform as a filmmaker to respond to this crisis in a way that could not only
promote social equity, but initiate a global culture shift that can result in
the preservation of lives.
AMERICAN SKIN was birthed out of this
experience. Nate wrote, directed and starred in the film, playing an Iraqi war
veteran Lincoln “Linc” Jefferson. After Linc witnessed his son 14-yr old son murdered
by a white police officer during a traffic stop, who goes uncharged, he takes
justice into his own hands…LITERALLY! The officer is put on trial, in an
unorthodox manner that lead to a series of events he hopes will finally lead to
justice for his son.
“I have developed a piece that I hope will
challenge systems of oppression by promoting a much-needed dialogue between law
enforcement and community members of color. This dialogue, while spoken of
often, has never been realized in the arena of public discourse. My hope is
that this dialogue will not only create healing within these broken
relationships, but will serve as preventative maintenance, by conditioning both
sides to take a necessary beat, which can in turn save a life” explains Nate.
This emotionally charged masterfully done film,
also stars Omari Hardwick (James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick on the hit Starz Original
Series Power), Vanessa Bell Calloway,
Theo Rossi (Shades on Marvel’s Luke Cage
for Netflix and the fan favorite Juan Carlos ‘JUICE’ Ortiz on the critically
acclaimed television series Sons of Anarchy on FX) and up & comer Shane
Paul Mcghie (Charlie Day & Wrigley Pictures’ El Tonto, Netflix’s Anthology series, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, Amazing
Stories for Apple+ and the upcoming fourth season of BET’s Greenleaf).
After watching the film, Spike Lee was blown
away and jumped onboard as an executive producer to ensure visibility of this
project. AMERICAN SKIN releases Friday, January 15, 2021 – Martin
Luther King – weekend by Vertical Entertainment and is available on digital platforms!