About 14th: Written in the wreckage of the Civil War, the 14th amendment was meant to close the door on the hierarchy of human worth. Instead, it has become a permanent argument. Ava DuVernay’s 14th pulls this constitutional fight out of the footnotes and into the present, chronicling the vicious battle over the amendment that has raged for over 150 years. Threading deep archival scholarship with piercing headlines of today, 14th brings together legal minds, politicians, historians and cultural voices in direct conversation with a question America still hasn’t settled: Who gets to belong?

14th calls on an array of historians, lawyers, scholars, curators, cultural workers and politicians – from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) and Anna Paulina Luna (R) to former Senator Jeff Flake (R) and current Senator Alex Padilla (D), from legal minds Sherrilyn Ifill, Robert Chang and Stacey Abrams to social commentators like conservative author Donald T. Critchlow and cultural critic Hasan Piker. Pulitzer Prize winners Eric Foner and David Blight round out more than 50 expert interviews conducted by DuVernay for the film.

Credits: From ARRAY, 14th is directed by Ava DuVernay and produced by Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Tammy Garnes and Paul Garnes.

Quote from Director Ava DuVernay: “If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted. This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back. The film asks what kind of country is being written beneath our feet now… while we’re busy believing the stories we’ve all been told.” Headshot HERE (photo credit: Atsushi ‘Jima’ Nishijima)

Quote from Adam Del Deo, Vice President of Documentary Film and Series at Netflix: “Ava’s remarkable ability to bring history into conversation with the present made her last documentary, the seminal BAFTA-winning and Academy Award®-nominated 13th, a cultural touchstone of the last quarter century. With 14th, she delivers another ambitious and thought-provoking documentary with the depth, artistry, and humanity that have come to define her work. We’re proud to continue our creative partnership with Ava and bring this powerful film to audiences around the world.”

About Director Ava DuVernay: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is an Academy Award®- nominee and winner of Emmy, BAFTA, Sundance, Image and Peabody Awards. Her films include Selma, 13th, Middle of Nowhere, A Wrinkle in Time and Origin. She has created seven television series, including the acclaimed When They See Us and history-making Queen Sugar. Founder of the narrative change collective ARRAY, DuVernay holds honorary doctorates from Yale University and Morehouse College, along with the Great Americans Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. Following multiple terms on the boards of the Sundance Institute and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, she currently serves on the American Film Institute Advisory Board in her third term.

About ARRAY Filmworks: Founded in 2010, ARRAY Filmworks develops films, television, documentary, brand and installation projects that explore history, identity and the human condition through distinctive cinematic storytelling. The company’s work has earned Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy and Peabody recognition. ARRAY Filmworks has produced seven feature films, including the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th and the most recent feature film Origin. The company has produced ten television series, including the Emmy Award-winning When They See Us and the acclaimed drama Queen Sugar. In addition, ARRAY Filmworks creates commissioned films and special projects for leading cultural institutions and global brands, from Prada to The Smithsonian.

Elevation Pictures x Mr. Will want to give Readers in Vancouver a chance to win passes to an Advance Screening of TIFF ’23 selection, ORIGIN. Screenings take place as follows:

Synopsis:

Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, ORIGIN chronicles the tragedy and triumph of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she investigates a global phenomenon of epic proportions. Portrayed by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“King Richard”), Isabel experiences unfathomable personal loss and love as she crosses continents and cultures to craft one of the defining American books of our time. Inspired by the New York Times best-seller “Caste,” ORIGIN explores the mystery of history, the wonders of romance and a fight for the future of us all. In theatres January 19, 2024.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK.

Rules and regulations here.

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

By Amanda Gilmore

Ava DuVernay’s poetic and essential Origin is one of the year’s best. The esteemed Director merges Isabel Wilkerson’s life along with her research to create an inspired adaptation of the Author’s New York Times Bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. 

DuVernay’s focus on Wilkerson’s private life, specifically her losses and grief the years before she began her research, makes Origin part biopic part historical chronicle. In chronicling her life, the audience has a linear storyline to follow while travelling back and forth in time to witness the atrocities that happened.

We open on the last night of Trayvon Martin’s life. It was that horrific night’s 911 calls that initiated Wilkerson’s research. From there we witness the loss of her husband and mother within a year. As she heals, she throws herself into her research. Travelling to Germany and India in search of connections between caste systems there and America.

With each stop Wilkerson makes she learns the connection between each country both presently and historically. DuVernay’s powerful, unsettling images capture the horrors the caste system creates. She delivers distressing moments of the Holocaust, the inhumanity inflicted on the Dalits in India and lynchings in America. These impactful images will haunt audiences long after viewing and visualising the research Wilkerson wrote about in her novel.

Overall, Origin is a captivatingly beautiful and heartbreakingly necessary film that holds one of the year’s most enrapturing performances from Aunjanue Ellis.

Origin screens at TIFF ’23:

Monday, September 11 at 2 PM at Roy Thompson Hall

Wednesday, September 13 at 2:30 PM at Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

The finish line is in sight for TIFF ’23 but we’re still out and about! We spotted Ava DuVernay doing the rounds earlier! The history-making Oscar-nominated BAFTA and Primetime Emmy winner looked stunning earlier and was so lovely to stop for a snap! Her film ORIGIN was a late add to the lineup at TIFF ’23.

Shortly after, we saw Oscar-nominated Actress Salma Hayek Pinault arriving to her Red Carpet for SABOR DE LA NAVIDAD. In a rush to get to her interviews, she didn’ stop at the barricade for her fans. She serves as Executive Producer for the Film.

Also, a huge joy witnessing Chloe Domont‘s feature directorial debut FAIR PLAY. This is definitely one of the best things I’ve seen so far at TIFF ‘23. Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor play a couple who after getting engaged, live through a power struggle when one of them gets promoted at work. So wonderful seeing Domont at the Roy Thomson Hall Premiere tonight.

Please seeing Viggo Mortensen still here for THE DEAD DON’T HURT.

And last but not least, our friends at Elevation Pictures celebrated their 10th Birthday and it was a bustling party at their building on Richmond Street. They had a whopping 14 films at the Festival! Several noticables, including Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard were there.

(Photo/video credit Mr. Will Wong)

TIFF CEO, Cameron Bailey, is excited to announce that filmmaker Ava DuVernay will return to TIFF with her latest offering, Origin. DuVernay’s film will have a Gala screening at Roy Thomson Hall on Monday, September 11th. DuVernay will be in attendance.

Written, produced, and directed by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, Origin chronicles the remarkable life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson (played by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as she investigates the genesis of injustice and uncovers a hidden truth that affects us all.

Origin stands as a unique account of the intimacy within a writer’s quest for truth. DuVernay creates powerful cinematic images from the stories that Wilkerson brought to light in her non-fiction work Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, as well as the tragic moments of her personal life which framed her writing. It results in a deeply moving portrait of grief and healing — both personally and in the world.

“Ava DuVernay’s Origin is a brilliantly crafted showcase of her talent as a writer, producer, and director. This is audacious filmmaking on a grand, global scale,” said Bailey, “DuVernay deftly weaves Isabel Wilkerson’s big idea about how we live into a beautiful narrative of passion and discovery. I can’t wait for Toronto audiences to feel its power.”

Paul Garnes and DuVernay produced Origin under her ARRAY Filmworks banner, and Thane Watkins serves as co-executive producer.

Along with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal, Origin stars Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Connie Nielsen, Emily Yancy, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Finn Wittrock, Victoria Pedretti, Isha Blaaker, and Myles Frost. The team of artists behind Origin was led by cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd, ASC, production designer Ina Mayhew, editor Spencer Averick A.C.E, composer Kris Bowers, costume designer Dominique Dawson, and casting director Aisha Coley.

Tickets for Origin go on sale Monday, September 4 at 10 AM ET. Check tiff.net for more information.

Launched in February 2021 by Ava DuVernay, non-profit organization ARRAY ALLIANCE seeks to balance the below-the-line Production Crew diversity gap.

Led by an all-women executive team, ARRAY Crew is a personnel database launched in February 2021 for Hollywood’s below-the-line crew members with a special focus on the amplification of women, people of color and other underrepresented film and television professionals.

With the expansion to Canada, the two largest film and television production hubs in North America are now able to access inclusive hiring resources. Production partners have access to search and view profiles for thousands of diverse below-the-line talent while enabling studio executives, producers, line producers and department heads to find candidates across 600+ job titles (including scripted, unscripted, animation and documentary) in over 450 departments on a per project basis.

“As the film and television industries continue meaningful efforts toward inclusive hiring practices, ARRAY Crew’s expansion to Canada, in celebration of our first anniversary, widens the aperture for those in positions of hiring power and offers a robust way to achieve goals of equity and parity,” said DuVernay. “With the partnership of every major American studio and streamer, we look forward to further facilitating connection and community through our non-profit, women-led platform.”

Film and television professionals who are at least 18-years of age with a minimum of one verifiable production credit can create a FREE searchable profile at www.arraycrew.com/join.

By Mr. Will Wong

She’s been nominated for Oscars, juggling Writer, Producer and Director caps and TIFF was fortunate enough to have Ava DuVernay appear virtually for an In Conversation With… tonight with TIFF‘s Artistic Director and Co-Head, Cameron Bailey. DuVernay reflected on her career path which has included many firsts including being the first ever black female Director to be nominated for an Oscar with 2014’s Selma.

On the success of Netflix Documentary 13th which looks at the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlawed slavery:

“Though you’d think it would be Selma and A Wrinkle in Time, most people know me internationally for 13th as those two didn’t get a wide release.”.

On the impact of Netflix‘s When They See Us. Bailey let DuVernay know that No. 1-ranked Tennis Player Naomi Osaka has been wearing masks donning the names of black people whose deaths have been named in protests against racial injustice. She was inspired by the DuVernay-created, written and directed Mini-Series.

“Did she do that really? This is a story of Black Criminalization. The idea black people are inherently criminal. It doesn’t matter that Cameron Bailey is the Maestro to one of the biggest Film Festivals in the world. He’s a black man and he will be suspected for whatever’s gone wrong within a two mile radius. This is ingrained in our systems. When you can find a story that allows you to interrogate this – like this particular story – about five boys and how young they were and their story was catapulted to the top of the news in the U.S. What did they do? Are you sure? Should they stop resisting? Where were their parents? All those questions make the victim accountable for a crime against them. As much as Trisha Meili (the victim) was traumatized, these boys and all their families were traumatized. When you convict one person, we see the tentacles of that accusation on a family and a generation. Making a five-hour Movie was an adventure, but a forum I really embraced because it allowed us to tell this story from boys to men and how the system applied to every stage of their lives.”.

Bailey asks DuVernay how she feels about this age of using image and video as evidence.

“We’re able to use it to further our cause, but it’s always been used as that. You saw white folks who’d go to lynchings and see bodies hanging as entertainment. Martin Luther King – and I wish I had time to name the rest – all the people who made Selma and the Civil Rights Movement happen. They all did it before cameras so that it could be talked about by following generations.”.

“Images bear witness to tell the story to change the story. We have to make sure it’ts not used as propaganda and is used for truth-telling and protection. I look forward to using image in a fashion not to state that we matter, as much as I’m an advocate and participant in the Black Lives Matter movement. I’m resentful we even have to say the words. Images help that conversation be had. Hopefully, we can keep looking at these things and get to a time when it’s not needed.”.

On balancing real-life trauma with her own vision:

“Asking people to relive a tough time in their life is difficult. But to be able to get them to participate, say their truth, see the Script, be on-set and look at Editing Room material – to be involved in a progressive way – helps them to recreate the process so it’s not so traumatic when they see it on screen and so they feel it’s part of their story.”.

On casting Toronto’s Stephan James in Selma:

“A friend of mine had seen him as a side character in something else. We couldn’t find his agent or the kid. Aisha Coley (Casting Director) found the kid and the agent, and the agent didn’t call back. We are down to the wire to cast this and we needed to see him. We say it’s for Selma and it’s Canada and they don’t know what that is! We get him on tape, off to Atlanta and he’s spectacular and sublime. He’s beautiful and eager and gave a great performance. I just see him and go ‘My little Stephan!’.”.

On creating a creative space:

“I’m always welcoming you into my space, ‘Come on in, this is my space!’. I expect everyone to treat the space with respect and others with respect. This is space we’re sharing, it’s like our home while we’re shooting. These are Mama’s rules and stay within rules you’ll be just fine. I believe in just being welcoming to people and being kind from Actors to Crew to Executives.”.

On “safe spaces”:

“We’ve progressed from 5, 10 years ago. You put the onus of nervousness on them. You didn’t do anything. We need to change our perspective on these things and not see yourself as a victim, but a victor. I went into a meeting where I was the only one like me and asked, ‘How many women, how many black people, are there any indigenous people?’. These are questions I need to know if i want to participate. Put the onus on those people who keep things looking one way and not on us.”.

In addition to producing a Netflix Series with Football star Colin Kaepernick which will be shooting in the next 4-5 months, DuVernay has series of Warner Bros. projects to come. Her Series Queen Sugar is now shooting with Crew and Cast having moved back to new Orleans.

(Photo credit: TIFF)

Netflix has announced a new six-part scripted Series about Colin Kaepernick’s formative high school years, which he will narrate. Ava DuVernay and Kaepernick also will serve as Executive Producers alongside Writer Michael Starrbury. DuVernay and Starrbury last collaborated on Award-winning WHEN THEY SEE US for Netflix.

Titled COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE, the Series provides an introspective look at the Football star’s early life as a Black child growing up with a white adopted family and his journey to become a great quarterback while defining his identity.

More to come.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Coming this May is a four-part Mini-Series on Netflix from acclaimed Director Ava DuVernay.

Synopsis:
Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

The series stars Emmy Award® Nominee Michael K. Williams, Academy Award® Nominee Vera Farmiga, Emmy Award® Winner John Leguizamo, Academy Award® Nominee and Emmy Award® Winner Felicity Huffman, Emmy Award® Nominee Niecy Nash, Emmy Award® Winner and two-time Golden Globe Nominee Blair Underwood, Emmy Award® and Grammy Award® Winner and Tony Award® Nominee Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez and Asante Blackk.

More here.

Netflix stream WHEN THEY SEE US Friday, May 31, 2019.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

If there was any one Film gaining rapid momentum this Awards Season, that certainly would be SELMA!  The Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic screened in Toronto last week to rousing reception. Paramount Pictures Canada and Mr. Will want Readers in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal to witness SELMA before everyone else! Screenings take place on Wednesday, January 7, 2015, our v. first in the New Year!

Official Synopsis:

SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition.  The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement.  Director Ava DuVernay’s SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.

SELMA also stars Carmen Ejogo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Oprah Winfrey, Alessandro Nivola, Wendell Pierce and Henry G. Sanders.

See the Trailer:

Official Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook.  You may press the “share” button and share with your Friends on Facebook or Re-Tweet the below for an extra chance:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/selma @MRWILLW wants us to #win Passes to see #SELMAMovie in #OTT #YYZ + #MTL. Out 1/9!

Good luck, Willionaire$.

Paramount Pictures Canada release SELMA on Friday, January 9, 2015.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)