Friday, Oct. 23, 2020

Though having to go virtual in the face of a pandemic, AFI Fest this past week (10/15-22) remained steadfast as a cornucopia of content with high-profile debuts as well as some under-the-radar films gaining exposure and prominence. Where the fest came up different this time around was in stepped...

Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2020

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been elected to the film academy’s Board of Governors for the first time. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its new members Wednesday, which include the “Selma” filmmaker, “A Star is Born” producer Lynette Howell Taylor and casting...

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

To separate filmmaker and TV producer Ava DuVernay's trenchant, history-driven projects, including "Selma" and "When They See Us," from her new romantic drama series is to sell short the determined thoughtfulness that shapes all her work.

OWN's intimate, eight-episode "Cherish the Day,"...

Friday, Feb. 7, 2020

Through laughs, tears and speeches that turned into sermons and affirmations, the overarching theme of this year's star-studded Essence luncheon was that in an unforgiving industry that often overlooks, black women need no validation from Hollywood — or elsewhere — to appreciate their self-worth...

Monday, Jan. 6, 2020

The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series; Variety/Talk/News/Sports–-Regularly Scheduled Programming; Reality Programs; Children’s Programs; Commercials; and Documentary for 2019.

Among the...

Friday, May. 31, 2019

Netflix is made for bingeing, but filmmaker Ava DuVernay thinks that audiences should watch her Central Park Five miniseries "When They See Us " at their own pace.

The four-part series explores the true story of five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were coerced into confessing...

Thursday, Apr. 25, 2019

Aliyah Royale imagined her TV series debut might be a comedy. Instead, she plunged into an emotionally demanding role in a police-shooting drama that brought the 19-year-old into the daunting orbit of a veteran star and heavyweight producers.

Whatever the challenges, Royale said she felt...

Saturday, May. 12, 2018

Eighty-two women climbed the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival in an unprecedented red carpet protest to press for improved gender equality in the film industry.

The number of stars, filmmakers and film industry professionals ascending the steps represented the...

Wednesday, Mar. 7, 2018

Go ahead, pick your favorite young, villain-vanquishing fantasy heroine. Meg Murry probably came first.

Katniss Everdeen? She arrived in 2001. Hermione Granger? That was 1997. Elphaba, the green girl from "Wicked"? 2003. But Meg, the reluctant, bespectacled heroine of Madeleine L'Engle's...

Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2018

Ava DuVernay didn't pick up a camera until the age of 32.

It's an extraordinary fact, considering the trajectories of most Hollywood directors. Orson Welles filmed "Citizen Kane" at 25. Steven Spielberg was 27 when he made "Jaws." A 23-year-old John Singleton directed "Boyz N the Hood."...

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