I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.
Ava DuVernayThere's never been a film with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the center released in theaters. Ever! One does not exist. You've only seen tele-films and stage plays about him. Yet, we have big screens biopics about all kinds of people. So, I think it's only right that there be a full-length feature about Dr. King. I don't think there could be enough of them, but there should be at least one. So, here it is!
Ava DuVernayBecause my mom always told me that I could. From a very early age, I felt comfortable leading.
Ava DuVernayIt was easy for me to show the films to the studio and the network and say, "This is who I'm hiring."
Ava DuVernaySome black filmmakers will say, "I don't want to be considered a black filmmaker, I'm a filmmaker." I don't think that. I'm a black woman filmmaker.
Ava DuVernayI was talking to Shonda Rhimes the other day and I said, "I. Do. Not. Know. How. You. Do. This." While we're writing episode 10, episode 6 is shooting, episode 3 is in the edit, and episode 2 is in its color session...You've got seven episodes in different parts! It's a wild, wild, wild ride, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was badass and amazing.
Ava DuVernay