I think what we forget as storytellers on every level is that it comes from a visual drive in us to be in support of women who are powerful and to some degree, dangerous - in the sense of disrupting the concept of what it means to be a director in Hollywood. I think it’s about intuition, and your individual power. She's learned a lot from DuVernay's actions and her continuous effort to make a mark in the industry. Not only did Ava add Cheryl Dunye to her roster, who served as a producing director for the current season, but she also worked with Numa Perrier, Heidi Saman, Bola Ogun and Tchaiko Omawale.Ĭonsidered the most influential African American filmmaker to emerge from the New Queer Cinema wave of the mid-1990s, Dunye acknowledges DuVernay for taking a chance, and giving storytellers the platform to tell their candid, authentic anecdotes. I think it ultimately comes down to they don’t care enough to do it because Ava did it. ![]() They’ve won all these awards, and somehow they can get one television show.’ Why is that? I think it comes down to what you value, and there’s obviously some people who say they just can’t do it. I’ve seen their gorgeous films in these festivals. You have someone like Ava, who is like, ‘This is important to me, and it is possible and I know these women. I think people are just lazy…maybe it’s not important to them. While executives and casting directors in the entertainment industry are finding excuses for the lack of representation, Queen Sugar actress Bianca Lawson weighs in on the matter, getting candid about how the industry may not see it as a priority. Many have never had their television directorial debut, but this comes to demonstrate the work DuVernay is doing to empower her community. For instance, she handpicked an all-female director group for Queen Sugar, giving these creatives the opportunity to add episodic television experience to their resumes. The trailblazing television channel is enabling a visionary like DuVernay to run things on her own terms, and she’s doing so, indeed. That’s not the case for Oprah Winfrey, and her network. This process is highly revolutionary considering the industry consists of predominantly white people - especially white male executives, who consistently green light stories that exclude minority groups. ![]() In fact, it’s safe to say she’s pioneering a new future for the television industry, helping create not only a writer’s room that is all inclusive but is also giving an opportunity to female directors to tell their narratives in their perspectives. Creator and executive producer, Ava DuVernay, doesn’t run a production crew in a conventional way, and it's for the better.
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