September 7th 2023.
Ava DuVernay made history at the Venice Film Festival this week. She became the first African American woman at the 80-year-old festival to have a film compete for the Golden Lion. The Academy Award-winning director held a press conference for her new film “Origin” on Wednesday, September 6, to commemorate the momentous occasion.
At the press conference, DuVernay recalled the times she was discouraged from applying to the Venice film festival due to age-old stigmas about Black filmmakers’ appeal to international audiences. She shared that she was often told, “Don’t apply to Venice, you won’t get in. It won’t happen. People will not come to the press conferences, people won’t come to the P&I screenings. They will not be interested in selling tickets.”
But despite the odds, DuVernay proved the naysayers wrong. Her film “Origin” is based on “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal. It follows the life and work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author as she investigates the origins of injustice and uncovers a hidden truth that impacts society as a whole.
DuVernay expressed her joy at the press conference, saying, “This year, something happened that hadn’t happened in eight decades before: an African American woman in competition. So now that’s a door open that I trust and hope the festival will keep open.”
The cast for “Origin” also includes Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Connie Nielsen, Emily Yancy, Jasmine Cephas-Jones, Finn Wittock, Victoria Pedretti, Isha Blaaker, and Myles Frost. The film is scheduled for release later this year.
DuVernay has also recently created one of the largest hiring networks in the industry with her “Array Crew” expansion, which provides opportunities for underrepresented talent in the entertainment industry. It was a full circle moment for the director who, years ago, was told not to apply to the Venice Film Festival. But she did it anyway and made history.
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