【Green Bones (2024)】

TORONTO -- He dodged it.

Yes,Green Bones (2024) Nate Parker said plenty of interesting and important things about injustice and inequality at the fiery Birth of a Nationpress conference on Sunday morning, but at the end of the day, the journalists walking out of the Fairmont Royal York hotel were left with just one thought -- he dodged the tough questions.

It was the elephant in the room, one filled with journalists who were only there for one reason -- Parker and co-story writer Jean Celestin's college rape controversy that prompted an investigation and trials at Penn State in 1999.

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What did he have to say about the allegations he was acquitted of in 2001? What did he have to say to the family of his accuser, who killed herself in 2012? What did he have to say to the people reluctant to support his film?

After witnessing several clumsy and poorly received public statements over the past month, it seems that Fox Searchlight's new strategy is to just have Parker keep quiet. It's hard to blame them, because for the most part, their plan is working.

SEE ALSO: The Nate Parker whispers started at Sundance — before 'The Birth of a Nation' premiere

Just weeks after many awards experts (myself included) counted Birth of a Nationout of the Oscar race, it seems there has been a rebirth of sorts here at the Toronto International Film Festival, where audiences, at least, have managed to separate the artist from the art in applauding Parker's passionate Nat Turner biopic.

Parker and his rather courageous co-stars Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Gabrielle Union, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley sat for a press conference arranged by Fox Searchlight and unaffiliated with the festival itself. While everyone had equal billing at this table, the spotlight shone brightest on Parker, who was certainly in the hot seat.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The press conference was moderated by Birth of a Nationsupporter Cori Murray of Essence, who walked the cast through more than a half-hour of softball questions before addressing the controversy, surely anticipating the inevitable questions on the tips of her peers' tongues.

Murray asked whether Parker's past will lead to people judging the film before seeing it, which she had said earlier "isn't fair, because it's still an important film." Parker said he "didn't want to speak for anyone else," and that he had already addressed the allegations and would surely address them again in the future, seemingly eager to move on to the next question.

But Birth of a Nationdeals in moral accountability, so it was fair of Cara Buckley of the New York Timesto ask why Parker hasn't apologized to the victim's family yet and if he plans to in the future. Parker evaded the question, saying "I've addressed this a few times, and I'm sure I'll address it in different forums. But this is a forum for the film [and] for the other people that are sitting on this stage. It's not mine. I don't own it. It does not belong to me. So I definitely don't want to hijack this with my personal life."

Perhaps we'restill talking about it because it still seems like Parker doesn't feel like he did anything wrong 17 years ago. If Parker has shown any remorse, it has been awkward at best.

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SEE ALSO: Amid the uproar over Nate Parker, why is no one talking about Casey Affleck?

Parker then sidestepped Mashable's question about whether there is a double standard in Hollywood regarding who is held accountable for their past transgressions. After all, the sexual harassment lawsuits that Casey Affleck settled out of court and the anti-Semitic comments that Mel Gibson made in the past haven't put a damper on the awards hopes of Manchester by the Seaor Hacksaw Ridge.

Parker didn't engage the question, let alone answer it. Instead, he just wanted to hammer home his approved talking points.

"I don't pretend to be an expert on the reaction of anyone. I'm a filmmaker. I feel like this is my calling and I feel very blessed that I've had the opportunity to make films and act in films and create a film that I think can really shift the narrative. That has been my goal since becoming an artist, so I'm going to stay in that lane. I'm a filmmaker, you guys are journalists, and we all have jobs to do."

Clearly, some of Parker's co-stars have grown tired of the media attention surrounding his past and were eager to defend their work, if not the director himself.

Penelope Ann Miller, Armie Hammer, Nate Parker, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King, Gabrielle Union and Jackie Earle Haley of "The Birth of a Nation" pose at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Credit: Maarten de Boer/Getty Images

An exasperated Penelope Ann Miller reminded the crowd that "this isn't the Nate Parker story, this is the Nat Turner story, and I think it's an important story to know about." True though that may be, the Nate Parker story is just as relevant as Nat Turner's.

"We're not creating a movie, we're creating a movement," said Union, who added that just as there can't ever be too many Holocaust movies, there can never be enough stories about slavery, because "oppression is everyone's problem."

"This country was built on slavery and that's something we have to reckon with, but with each hashtag, we seem to have forgotten about the last hashtag," she said. The actress also revealed that 90 percent of people she's heard from have given her "hugs and high-fives" regarding her recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, while 5 percent feel she "threw [Parker] under the bus" and the other 5 percent feel she's a "rape apologist."

"Every time I talk about it, I want to puke," she said, "but my personal discomfort is nothing."

SEE ALSO: The Oscar Map: If redemption is the journey, who's on the right path?

She's not the only one sick to her stomach. Those who have taken the time to read the phone transcript between Parker and his accuser in the days following the alleged rape may have a difficult time supporting Birth of a Nation.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"Those who say they’re staying home, whatever issue or apprehension you have, bring it with you to the theater. Bring it, and let’s talk about it," said Ellis. "There is the art and there is the artist, and they are two different things," added Ellis, who recalled growing up in the South where Nat Turner's story had been omitted from history books that referred to slaves as "workers" because "they don't want us to know who we are."

"This isn't black history, it's Americanhistory," said Miller. "I hope people will give us a chance."

The public may still be open to that. The film's odds of landing a Best Picture nomination have increased this past weekend, but victory will remain out of reach as long as there are questions surrounding the rape case and its fallout 17 years later.

Because in the end, it all comes down to whether a group of predominantly older, white men feel good about checking that box in January.

That's still four months away. There's plenty of time to adjust the narrative and right the ship, but the film's U.S. release date of Oct. 7 arrives much sooner, and with a $17.5 million investment on the line (not counting P&A), Parker is running out of time to save his movie.