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For Ava DuVernay, movies are a vehicle to start meaningful conversations and drive change.
And that’s exactly what he hopes will emerge from his latest film, “Origin,” a story that addresses the roots of inequality, division and oppression in America.
The director, writer and producer sat down with CNN this week to talk about the film, the sense of urgency she feels around its message and where she finds joy in storytelling.
Although “Origin” did not receive Oscar recognition This year, DuVernay praised this year’s slate of nominees for their diversity, calling it “a beautiful cross-section of cultures and types of people.”
“The awards are light for a movie,” he said. “They add light to a film, to the performances, to the work of the artisans and amplify them.”
DuVernay said she hopes to shed a similar kind of light through her films, which often ask viewers to confront America’s history of racial inequality.
And with “Origin,” DuVernay’s goal was no different.
“Movies play an important role in creating a national mood,” DuVernay told the audience at a screening of the film in DC. “We artists must start using our weapons to defend ourselves against anything that threatens justice and dignity. And this is my contribution to that.”
“Origin” is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabelle Wilkerson’s novel, “Caste: The Origin of our Discontents.” The film follows Wilkerson’s personal and professional journey to uncover the caste systems that fuel social inequality both in the United States and around the world.
CNN spent a day with DuVernay, who felt a great sense of urgency in sharing the message of this film and took the conversation directly to Washington, DC and those charged with creating the nation’s laws.
“I really hope it’s a spark for some action, some dialogue, some energy that I feel like we don’t have like we should, especially this year,” DuVernay said.
Chandelis Duster/CNN
Ava DuVernay examines a collection of historical relics and photographs curated by Library of Congress staff under the leadership of Dr. Carla Hayden, the first woman and first Black person to serve as Librarian of Congress.
On a chilly Thursday in late January, DuVernay’s high-heeled footsteps echoed through the halls of the Library of Congress, where she seemed pensive as she took in the columns and architecture.
“As we walked, I constantly came across busts, friezes and facades, literally carved into the buildings themselves, and I didn’t see any Asians, browns, blacks or women in the actual structures,” he said.
“There was a glaring absence from the majority of this country, and I think that speaks much more broadly to not just what the halls of power look like physically, but, more often, what the behavior is within them.” .
That behavior (and the upcoming presidential election) have been a priority for DuVernay since she began working on the film. “Origin” was filmed in 37 days and DuVernay he previously told CNN he wanted it published before the 2024 election to start conversations about the roots of division in America.
“I’m just trying to sound the alarm,” he said. “If I can say, ten months before this election, ‘it’s going to be bad.’ … We have a little bit of time to try to take this in a different direction.”
He later toured the Old Chamber of the Supreme Court, where monumental cases such as Dred Scott v. Sandford were decided.
That landmark Supreme Court case, which ruled that the Constitution’s protections did not apply to people of black or African descent, played a critical role in establishing a legal basis for slavery and entrenching America’s racial hierarchy.
DuVernay said facing these difficult moments in our history is key to ensuring it is not repeated.
“This is the exact model of Nazism,” DuVernay said at the film’s screening. “You are overwhelmed by negativity. You’re so fatigued by everything that’s going on and all the crazy rhetoric that you just stop listening and look the other way. And you focus on this, this and these little things, when something so big happens.”
DuVernay also held separate closed-door meetings with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. He told the audience that they spoke candidly about “the lack of urgency that I feel we are suffering from: the dispossession of human rights.”
Chandelis Duster/CNN
Ava DuVernay meets with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The U.S. House of Representatives Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a nonpartisan, nonlegislative advocacy office, coordinated DuVernay’s visit to the U.S. Congress for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Despite tackling some of the biggest issues of our time through her work, DuVernay said she always finds room for joy.
On her trip to DC, she visited her mentor and filmmaker, Haile Gerima, at his bookstore, Sankofa, and socialized with her sorority sisters Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
He also visited Howard University, where he answered questions from curious students about how he took the novel from paper to the big screen.
DuVernay said stepping outside of Hollywood circles to talk about her films is where she often finds joy: in the community.
“Meeting people, hearing people talk about what they cared about in the film… it’s just exciting to be around people,” he said. “They simply enjoy and consume movies for the reason they are intended: a sense of engagement.”
DuVernay also said she prides herself on elevating the stories of America’s unvarnished history, and although many of the films she creates are based on heavy themes, DuVernay said she considers the work a privilege.
“Right now, I am the narrator of these stories. I feel it as a source and I carry it with great pride,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s something I can do, that I choose to do, that I want to do, that I pursue, that I put into action. I am not a contract director. This comes from my own head.”