Ava DuVernay

13th

Ava DuVernay

Jelani Cobb, Angela Davis

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Life Itself

Steve James

Stephen Stanton, Roger Ebert

The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.

Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now

Mark Ritchie

Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay

Oprah Winfrey talks with the exonerated men once known as the Central Park Five, plus the cast and producers who tell their story in "When They See Us".

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Pamela B. Green

Jodie Foster, Richard Abel

The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

A Choice Of Weapons: Inspired By Gordon Parks

John Maggio

Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee

This documentary chronicles renaissance man Gordon Parks’ stellar career from staff photographer for LIFE magazine, through his artistic development photographing everyday Americans, through his evolution as a novelist and groundbreaking filmmaker.

Selma

Ava DuVernay

David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

Venus VS.

Ava DuVernay

Venus Williams, Billie Jean King

We know about the swing. We know about the swagger. But what most Americans don't know about Venus Williams is how she changed the course of her sport. In a stunning case that captured the European public beginning in 2005, Williams challenged the long-held practice of paying women tennis players less than their male counterparts at Wimbledon. With a deep sense of obligation to the legacy of Billie Jean King, Williams lobbied British Parliament, UNESCO and Fleet Street for financial parity. And it was her poignant op-ed piece in The London Times that convinced many people that the Wimbledon tournament organizers were "on the wrong side of history." Roland Garros and Wimbledon finally relented in 2007. That year at Wimbledon, Venus became the first women's champion to earn as much as the men's singles winner (Roger Federer). VENUS VS. chronicles Williams' fight for pay equality.

Half the Picture

Amy Adrion

Rosanna Arquette, Lena Dunham

At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally.

13th: A Conversation with Oprah Winfrey & Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey

In this 30-minute interview, Oprah Winfrey sits down with director Ava DuVernay to discuss her Oscar-nominated film, historical cycles of oppression and the broken prison system.

This Is the Life

Ava DuVernay

Cut Chemist, Big Al

In 1989, a collective of young hip hop artists gathered at a health food café in South Central Los Angeles. Their mandate? To reject gang culture and expand the musical boundaries of hip hop. DuVernay's documentary chronicles the historic legacy of the Good Life Cafe — the open mic nights that became an L.A. institution, the eclectic array of talented young MCs that emerged there, the alternative hip hop movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the artform.

Aggie

Catherine Gund

Agnes Gund, Ava DuVernay

An exploration of the nexus of art, race, and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund who sold Roy Lichtenstein’s painting “Masterpiece” in 2017 for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund to end mass incarceration.

Saturday Night Life

Ava DuVernay

Writer-director Ava DuVernay's short drama concerns a poor, struggling single mother whose trip with her three children to a 99-cent store in Los Angeles becomes an unexpectedly uplifting family experience. Melissa DeSousa ("The Best Man") stars.

My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women and Hip-Hop

Ava DuVernay

Chuck D, Missy Elliott

Ava DuVernay focuses on the history of female MCs in the hip hop industry in this short documentary that features Missy Elliott, Salt-N-Pepa, Eve, Jean Grae, Roxanne Shante, Trina, The Lady of Rage, and many more.

Middle of Nowhere

Ava DuVernay

David Oyelowo, Maya Gilbert

When her husband is sentenced to eight years in prison, Ruby drops out of medical school in order to focus on her husband's well-being while he's incarcerated - leading her on a journey of self-discovery in the process.

I Will Follow

Ava DuVernay

Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tracie Thoms

Chronicles a day in the life of a grieving woman, and the twelve visitors who help her move forward.

Girls Trip

Malcolm D. Lee

Regina Hall, Queen Latifah

Four girlfriends take a trip to New Orleans for an annual festival and, along the way, rediscover their wild sides and strengthen the bonds of sisterhood.