LA-native Ava DuVernay is a trailblazing filmmaker and media multi-hyphenate whose meteoric journey is equally rooted in telling critically acclaimed stories and carving new pathways for creatives and activists alike.

A multifaceted media background equipped DuVernay to navigate Hollywood with expert precision. Her renowned PR marketing agency, DV Agency, where she represented Hollywood heavy-hitters, and her broadcast journalism experience instilled insider knowledge of the challenges faced by Black female filmmakers. Always pragmatic, DuVernay described her understanding as, 

“I was sober about the industry that I was getting into and what my place was in it. There was really no place,” 

She made her transition into filmmaking at the age of 32 while continuing her day job throughout her first three films. Cutting her teeth on music documentaries, like her directorial debut, This is the Life (2008), eventually debuting Middle of Nowhere, her second feature film, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and becoming the first Black woman to win a Best Director Prize at the festival. 

From the beginning, DuVernay employed innovative approaches to platforming and promoting her socially relevant storytelling. She formed the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement in 2010 to distribute her first feature film, I Will Follow. This movement evolved into ARRAY (2011), a multi-platform arts and social impact collective comprising four mission-driven arms: ARRAY Releasing (international distribution), ARRAY Filmworks (content production), ARRAY Creative Campus (programming and production), and ARRAY Alliance (a nonprofit group). 

DuVernay’s career is characterized by organizing impact-based actions against institutional gaps in service and access for marginalized creatives. From developing Urban Beauty Collective, a three-pronged initiative (promotional network, blog site, and digital content platform) to serve the needs of the Black beauty community that she noticed as a publicist.

To mobilize 42 Black directors to participate in a ‘Rebel-A-Thon’ (2015), a Twitter Q&A to fundraise for ARRAY, DuVernay entered filmmaking as an organizer.

Road to Origin

There is preparation and intention behind every move ARRAY makes. After their triumph at Sundance with Middle of Nowhere, DuVernay continued to direct genre-shifting projects. After seven seasons, QUEEN SUGAR (2016-2022) earned the title of longest-running Black family drama series. Selma (2014) chronicled the momentous life of Martin Luther King Jr. and put DuVernay on the map as the first film by a Black female director nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Returning to their documentary roots, 13th (2016) took on the US’s prison industrial complex and led to a nomination for the Best Documentary Oscar (another first for a Black woman). With this increased studio power, she went on to direct Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME(2018), becoming the highest-grossing Black woman director in American history. Building on the conversations of the 13th, amplified, ARRAY embarked on WHEN THEY SEE US (2019), the mini-series detailing the traumatic redemption story of ‘The Exonerated Five,’ earning 16 Emmy nominations. 

The Innovation Behind Origin

As a socially driven filmmaker, DuVernay was intentional about aligning the intended release time of Origin with the 2024 U.S. election cycle. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she stated:

“My hope is that it instigates some conversation about things we should be focusing on in this country as we head toward an election — hey, anybody see we’re taking books off shelves? Women can’t control their own bodies? Are we going to do something? I felt an urgency around getting it out there.” 

This timeline was too fast for the planned distributor, Netflix’s schedule, so DuVernay and the ARRARY team, along with Paul Garners (Filmworks) and Regina Miller (Alliance), returned to the collectives’ organizing roots to independently fundraise the film’s $38 million budget. Seeking open-minded, mission-driven investors from the philanthropy world, they leveraged Alliance’s nonprofit relationships to connect to donors looking to amplify a film with social justice implications. This new process and production model created new opportunities, with Garners stating,

“That independent financing allowed for an accelerated schedule from raising the money, shooting the film, editing it and now releasing it.”

More than timing, the new Origin model enables creative freedom and expression that colored the film in all aspects. Outside of studio constraints, they were able to cast authentically and make on-set changes centered on storytelling. It convened a star-studded cast of actors like Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, and Niecy Nash-Betts as lead cast members and Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, and Vera Farmiga in day planners and bit parts, navigating strategically planned shoots, including Origin’s author Isabel Wilkerson and researcher Suraj Yengde in the 37-day, 3-country film shoot. Witnessing the mechanisms developed to make Origin invigorated everyone involved, from the ARRAY team to the cast and the hair and makeup department. Unfortunately, the energy surrounding the film’s production, marketing, and audience reception wasn’t reflected during award season.

Origin’s Impact & Reception

Despite being the most acclaimed Black female director in history, DuVernay’s industry-shifting projects have struggled to receive recognition from the mainstream US film industry. Her long-running series, such as Queen Sugar, never received an Emmy or Golden Globe nomination, and big-budget films like A Wrinkle in Time were overlooked in Oscar and Golden Globe consideration. Many times, ARRAY has received notable nominations, but has only won for non-directing or acting-related awards. Even projects with undisputable impact, like When They See Us, were shut out by major bodies outside of the Primetime Emmys, which only awarded them two (one for casting) of the 16 nominations they received.

Origin seemed poised to be her most triumphant work to date. Yet, it was completely ignored by the mainstream awarding bodies, despite DuVernay serving on the Academy Awards’ Board of Directors. She publicly expressed her disappointment with the industry’s treatment of socially-relevant projects and the ways that ultimately impact funding. These disparities become more pronounced when considering the reception of Origin from awards outside the mainstream, such as the African-American Film Critics Association, the Black Reel Awards, and the Women’s Film Critics Circle. Internationally, ORIGIN helped Ava make history again at the Venice Biennale, as the first African American woman director to participate in the event. 

Beyond the Screen

DuVernay is creating a universe of impact that extends beyond the screen, facilitating community engagement through ARRAY Creative Campus. This mural-lined space cultivates creativity with an innovative cinema and theatre showcasing hybrid presentations, panels, and screenings.

With these spaces, ARRAY has stepped up programming to support Los Angeles communities, such as Altadena, in their fight to rebuild and recover after the Eaton Fires by hosting a Real Estate & Recovery event, connecting residents with resources to navigate the legal aspects of the disaster recovery process. They’ve promoted civic engagement with ARRAY Civic Class, a symposium bringing together artists and activists, including ACLU SoCal, Immigo LA, Pilipino Workers Center, LA County Arts & Culture Department, and Public Matters, to simplify the civic process. Hosting events like WATCH + VOTE, where voting booths accompanied a triple-feature watch party.

Outside of ARRAY, DuVernay, as a personal brand, stepped into the forefront with ONWARD. This Substack newsletter serves as an exploratory space, home to all the inner workings of Ava. A platform to narrate and contextualize the behind-the-scenes stories, process breakdown, insight, and overall resources for mission-aligned creatives outside of social media. 

ARRAY’s Next Steps

Even with all the moving parts, storytelling remains the center of ARRAY’s orbit, with upcoming projects reflecting its diverse interests. There was a three-year production deal with the Starz network to write, produce, and direct an untitled romantic drama series that has been stalled in production. There’s also a TV movie, entitled Battle of Versailles, which DuVernay is slated to write.

DuVernay: The Industry Standard

By pursuing authentic storytelling, Ava DuVernay became the industry standard. Forging new blueprints for creators and frameworks for creative entrepreneurs with every project, her impact is evident. Even inspiring ‘The DuVernay Test,’ a test to measure meaningful representation of people of color in media. DuVernay is challenging creators to think outside the box of blockbusters and Netflix, focusing on telling their stories, honing their craft in telling those stories, and building teams to help them bring them to life. Ultimately, her visionary worldbuilding is pushing the industry to become a land of possibilities that lives up to creators’ imagination.

About the Author

Kathleen Anaza

Freelance Writer

Kathleen ‘Kat’ Anaza is a multi-genre storyteller, organizer, and entrepreneur whose works center on narratives and experiences of the Black Diaspora. She has been featured in Vogue Magazine, Lonely Planet, Viator, and more. Connect with her work at https://linktr.ee/Kat_Anaza.

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