In addition to that, we have a woman post-production supervisor, a woman colorist, a woman first AD, a woman production supervisor... I think it's really sad when I hear so many shows are content to stay in a mono-cultural realm, not realizing how they are subtracting from their own greatness by not inviting women and people of color into the space - that seasoning that makes the recipe even more great. It was absolutely imperative for me. It's how I run all my crews.

Hollywood needs more women directors, and Mama Ava needs a carafe and a half of that sweet vino divino.

I make films about Black women and it doesn't mean that you can't see them as a Black man, doesn't mean that he can't see them as a white man or she can't see them as a white woman.

I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.

If you're doing something outside of dominant culture there's not an easy place for you. You will have to do it yourself.

When you say cultural icon, I scrunch my nose.

There’s something very important about films about black women and girls being made by black women. It’s a different perspective. It is a reflection as opposed to an interpretation, and I think we get a lot of interpretations about the lives of women that are not coming from women.