TIFF 2020: Ava DuVernay Shares Film Insights with Cameron Bailey

This evening was blessed: Toronto International Film Festival Creative Director and Co-Head Cameron Bailey guided the "In Conversation With..." series featuring director Ava DuVernay, and through digital presentation expressed that the year 2020 was heavy with change...as well as purpose.

We have to appreciate these moments now more than ever. The conversation series has already been transformative, with creatives across the city and globe tuned in digitally to hear experts speak about their careers, their passions, and their artistic visions. Even without the usual TIFF buzz on the streets of Toronto, the events have still felt very powerful, and the information has been intangible.

Ava DuVernay is a name that is already so embedded with the historical documentation and understanding of our generation: provocative messaging, and thought leadership in race relations, equity, and rational, conscious, common sense. Her delivery is always pointed, clear, and personable...her works have been exceptionally comprehensive in content and influence.

A native of California, raised in Compton, and now humbly perched at the highest ranks of film creation, Ava began her journey in the industry after studying at UCLA. For 13 years, she was a film publicist, falling in love with all facets of intricate storytelling. From a crew member's perspective, however, she never anticipated just how far she would journey within the sector.

Cameron Bailey began the special conversation by asking Ava to reflect on the year 2020, from a storyteller's perspective.

"We're in the presence of history," Ava said, although she has always acknowledged this statement. Crafting historical narratives over the years, she said this particular year, folks truly understand what it means. "You can feel it in the very vibration of the day, that we are in the midst of history. That 2020 will be long remembered."

Despite the disruptions and monumental concerns that 2020 has revealed across the globe, Ava still held on to sense of hope that the stories and lessons of this particular period will be remarkable. "What I am most excited about is to see the art that comes from this time...the art that will come out about this time. Who will tell our story of this."

Storytelling, she has mastered. Once proud to just see her name scrolling through the listing of film crew members during the movie's credits, her passion changed while working on the Michael Mann film "Collateral," the first film she saw recorded on a digital camera. In a familiar part of town (East LA), containing familiar races, faces, and emotions, it was at this time she realized that directing was an activity she could relate to...and could adopt as her own.

While journeying through the new world of film direction, words from Gina Prince-Bythewood always remained with her. Gina advised that Ava should never let "bad behaviour" go un-checked, when dealing with male crew members. Gina recommended she acknowledge it on the spot, call it out, and "let it be known that certain things wouldn't be tolerated."

Now, Ava noted, issues of power and positioning rarely come up, because she is able to decide the nature of who works around her...and as a director, is also responsible for the tone and atmosphere on set. The boundaries are firm, and the respect is expected. Her sets have become environments of process, productivity...and intense narrative development.

Cameron selected three clips of Ava's work to present, and address: "Selma," "13th," and "When They See Us."

With "Selma," he asked her to speak to the ways in which she translates history, and the process behind her choices in how to illuminate the activities of Martin Luther King Jr. He also spoke about Toronto native Stephan James, who played the role of Civil Rights icon John Lewis in the film.

"When I first got the script, it was very centered on the White House, and all of the political leanings, and a lot of conversations between Martin Luther King and Lyndon Baines Johnson," Ava said. Naturally aware of the Black liberation history of the south (Alabama in particular, where her father was raised), she felt it was important to talk about the community in Selma. She wondered where they were reflected in the story, and Ava rewrote the script to include the strategy of the people on the ground.

"These were ordinary people that did an extraordinary thing," said Ava. "These weren't superheros...and the more that you understand that, the more you feel like you might also be able to do extraordinary things."

Ava felt it was important to not only point out the normalcy, but also to point out the flaws of characters including MLK...and struggles against his own humanity. Looking at ways of illuminating this, she confessed, became her obsession.

The second clip presented, was from her documentary "13th," highlighting the prison industrial complex and the link between chattel slavery and the prison system in America. Cameron asked her to delve into how she brought big, complex ideas from radical scholarship, and managed to successfully present them to mainstream audiences.

"I assumed that folks are smart, and that if I skip a couple steps, you'd be able to fill in the gaps," said Ava, aware that the content in the film was dense. "The documentary is a hundred minutes long; I wanted to keep it brisk, and move through the ideas without lingering or having to explain it word-for-word. In the piece, there are a lot of skipped steps, but the cumulative effect is that you understand."

Ava was surprised with the international impact "13th" had, and mentioned that the movie has been embraced, and even "Selma" and "A Wrinkle in Time" were not as widely distributed (across 200+ countries in the local language). 

"That's become what people know me for outside of the United States," said Ava.

The third clip presented was from "When They See Us," which Cameron mentioned US Open champion Naomi Osaka recently cited as the catalyst for her interest in the subject of police violence, and also what raised Naomi's consciousness on the matter.

"This is a story of Black criminalization, and the idea that Black people are inherently criminal. It doesn't matter if Cameron Bailey is an accomplished maestro of one of the biggest film festivals in the world...he's a Black man, and he'll be suspected of what's ever going on within a ten-mile radius," Ava explained.

This particular story was about five Black young males in New York, wrongfully accused of sexual assault in 1989. Also known as the "Central Park Five," this crime was catapulted to the top of the national news in the U.S. Ava believes this story is about "all of us," and the doubts and questions that often make victims accountable for crimes against them.

"When you convict or criminalize one person...there's also an effect on a family, on a community, and on a generation. That was a lot of the work I was trying to highlight. Making a five-hour film was an adventure," said Ava, who covered the journey of the accused from boyhood to manhood, showcasing the ways in which the system affected them during every stage of their lives. "It allows you to see the power of that system on Black people."

Addressing the emergence of film and video as criminal evidence, Cameron and Ava spoke about how images have been the catalyst for street protest, and initiating system changes. In addition to real-life footage, Ava's works have also provided visual evidence for audiences to discuss what they see, and raise questions about the concepts.

"The image has always been powerful, and we're able to use it in ways to further our cause," she said, acknowledging her friend, Harvard Professor Sara Elizabeth Lewis who often speaks to using images to create narrative changes. "We need to make sure that it's not used as propaganda, but that it's used for purposes of truth telling, and protection. I look forward to a time when it can be used in a fashion that's not including us having to state that we matter."

In response to viewer/audience questions...

ON WORKING WITH JOHN LEWIS ON SELMA: "He was so generous with him time--so breezy and funny. He would allow me to call him and ask questions. Personal questions. Intimate questions that I couldn't read in books, about the texture of how people really were with each other." She added: "He was very emotional throughout the process; he cried on set, and at the premiere. That past was very present for him. It was an honour to get to know him during that time."

ON OWNING SPACE, AS A BLACK WOMAN & DIRECTOR ON SET: "I just really think of my sets as my house. I'm just welcoming you into my space: come on in! I expect everyone there to treat this space with respect, and treat everyone there with respect. This is the space that we're sharing; it's like our home. Take your shoes off at the door, and mind Mama's rules." Over the years, Ava has found that creating a comfortable space is conducive to producing good work, because, "when people are comfortable, you have great behaviour and warmth, and creativity flows."

ON PREPARING FOR THE INDUSTRY AS A YOUNG, BLACK FILM STUDENT: "How do you prepare? You walk in, and you bring yourself. Put the onus of the nervousness on them; change your perspective on these things. Don't walk in as the victim, but the victor." Ava said that when working on new projects, she asks questions to discover how many women, or Black individuals are at the company. Native or Indigenous. "Keep asking these questions about diversifying spaces."

ON HER CURRENT PROJECTS: Ava has just decided the next film that she will be working on (to be announced!), and is also working on a series with Colin Kaepernick, which will be shooting in the next four to five months. Also, Queen Sugar will begin it's fifth season, the crew and cast are currently returning to New Orleans, and cameras will be up in the next few weeks.

I wish there had been enough time for Ava and Cameron to get into their stories about the ten days they spent together in Mumbai that they alluded to, while they were serving on a film festival jury. Cameron's reflection, with a sigh: "Do you remember the days when you could just get on a plane and go to a film festival?"

Here's a clip of Ava's acceptance remarks, standing next to her friend Cameron, after receiving the TIFF's Golden Thumb director's award in 2015, in Toronto, presented at a Robert Ebert Tribute event:

I really enjoyed tonight's event. Ava is a such a wonderful example of grace and power combined. While it would have been awesome to attend this particular session in person, I am still grateful for the opportunity to be able to participate digitally, and absorb the essence of her innovation and strength. It is events like TIFF and sessions like "In Conversation With..." that really activate courage and connections for other creatives. Despite the physical distance, this year's Festival is continuing to be insightful and progressive.

An amazing 5th day of TIFF!

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Written by Stacey Marie Robinson for Kya Publishing's blog.