Ava DuVernay made history on Wednesday when she became the first African-American woman to show a film in competition at the Venice Film Festival. According to Reuters, the 51-year-old presented her Origin film after overcoming doubters who tried to convince her not to apply.
“As Black film makers we are told people who love films in other parts of the world do not care about our stories,” the award-winning director told reporters before the screening.
“I can’t tell you how many times I have been told: ‘Don’t apply for Venice, you won’t get in’. And this year it happened. Thank you. Something happened that hadn’t happened in eight decades before, an African American women in competition.”
The film illustrates how Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson wrote her book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” According to Reuters, the film delves into the 2020 best-selling book’s themes of race and deep-seated discrimination.
Initially, DuVernay began production on the Origin film as a studio project. She, on the other hand, made it an autonomous endeavor, giving her more artistic flexibility. The 51-year-old also stated that assembling such a cast for the film would not have been possible if the production had been overseen by a studio.
“There is an aspect of control (in the studios) over who plays what and there is an idea about who makes money, who attracts attention and sometimes that sits at odds with who might be the best person,” said DuVernay. “This cast … is populated with blood, sweat and tears working actors … together you see how they shine like stars.”