15 Most Underrated Movies Of 2016

2. The Birth Of A Nation

The forecast looked good for Nate Parker’s biographical drama The Birth of a Nation despite the controversial protagonist at its heart, preacher and slave Nat Turner who led a rebellion in 1831 that resulted in the death of around 60 white people and his eventual hanging. Not only did Parker manage to secure $8.5 million to actually get the film made, when it premiered at Sundance it scooped both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film. The film was subsequently snapped up by Fox Searchlight for a neat $17.5 million – the highest amount a studio has ever paid for distribution rights at Sundance to date. Pretty impressive considering the film is Parker’s directorial debut.

But then details emerged of a 1999 rape case involving Parker and co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin and put a dampener on any heady success the movie might’ve experienced. Though Parker was acquitted of charges and Celestin initially convicted but his sentence later over overturned, many moviegoers chose not to see the movie on account of the scandal. Negative publicity aside it’s a vivid and visceral portrayal of the brutality of slavery and, coming hot on the heels of this year’s #OscarsSoWhite controversy and focusing on a seminal moment in black history, it’s one of 2016’s most important films.