Nate Parker is getting an early start to awards season. The actor-turned-director, whose debut feature, Birth of a Nation, is already getting major Oscar buzz, was presented with the Disruptive Innovation Award at the Tribeca Film Festival over the weekend, and used his time at the podium to say some poignant things about changing the game in Hollywood.
After declaring that "apathy is the norm, not disruption," Parker went on to tell the audience, "Whatever inequality is living in your environment, attack it.... Any injustice that lives in your community, it’s your job. If not, that may be the very injustice that takes hold of your children."
The annual event also honored Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero and others.
If you aren't that familiar with Parker or Birth of a Nation, you soon will be. The film, about Nat Turner's slave rebellion, was picked up at Sundance for $17.5 million, making it the biggest sale in the festival's history, and is earning early universal praise. Birth of a Nation is due to hit theaters this fall.

See how Parker plans to "disrupt" the classroom with BET Breaks, below:

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