Venice Adds Nate Parker’s ‘American Skin’ to Lineup

By Nick Vivarelli

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – U.S. director Nate Parker’s drama “American Skin,” his second feature after “The Birth of a Nation,” has been added to the Venice Film Festival lineup.

Parker both directs and stars in the movie, which will have its world premiere on the Lido. He plays Lincoln, a Marine veteran who now works as a school janitor and is trying to mend his relationship with his son after his divorce. One day, during a routine police check, the boy is killed, but the officer guilty of shooting him is declared innocent without having to face trial. Lincoln then takes matters into his own hands.

After “The Birth of a Nation” made a splash, winning a prize at Sundance in 2016, Parker found himself engulfed in controversy after it emerged that he had once been charged with — but acquitted of — rape.

Spike Lee is expected attend the premiere of “American Skin,” which will screen in the out-of-competition Sconfini section, and participate in a Q&A with the audience after the screening, the festival said.

Venice also announced that the documentary “Beyond the Beach: The Hell and the Hope” was also being added to the Sconfini section. The film examines the work of the charity Emergency, which brings medical services to war-torn areas. The movie marks the directorial debut of British film producer Graeme A. Scott, who worked with American cinematographer Buddy Squires on the project.

Meanwhile, U.S. director Terence Nance (“An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” “Swimming in Your Skin Again”) has been announced as the fourth and final member of the Venice jury for first works, alongside jury president Emir Kusturica, Italian director Antonietta De Lillo, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, and U.S. producer Michael J. Werner.