Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY — her multi-platform media company and arts collective — and Google have partnered up to launch a new $500,000 feature film grant designed specifically to support emerging creatives from underrepresented communities. “Having started my filmmaking journey by self-funding projects, this is a full-circle moment,” DuVernay said in a statement. “I’m pleased to partner with Google and ARRAY’s grant advisory committee to identify an emerging writer/director to bring their vision to the screen. Inclusive storytelling is at the heart of ARRAY’s mission and we’re proud to also provide access to ARRAY Crew in order to further ensure that the set of the grantee’s film reflects the full array of the world around us.” According to Forbes, the award-winning director hopes this grant — referred to as The Array + Google Feature Film Grant — will clear a path for the next woman or person of color filmmaker to create their first feature-length film, and also foster a community of...

One year after the release of Emmy award-winning Netflix docuseries “When They See Us,” filmmaker and director Ava DuVernay launched her online learning platform, ARRAY, to encourage conversations around diversity and social justice. Now she’s taking her mission for inclusivity in Hollywood a step further with a joint venture alongside Warner Bros. Television chairman Peter Roth. Both DuVerynay and Roth have joined forces to announce the launch of Array Crew — a division of Array Alliance — which will act as a diverse database to highlight below-the-line talent in Hollywood, Variety reports. According to their announcement in the Los Angeles Times, the purpose behind assembling Array Crew is to offer Hollywood a solution to their diversity problem. The platform will ultimately bridge the hiring gap for women and people of color in the entertainment industry. Why do most film and TV sets look the same? The industry often tells us they’ve looked for Black folks, people of color and...

One year following the release of her Emmy award-winning “When They See Us” docu-series, Ava DuVernay is continuing conversations centered around social justice with the launch of a new online learning platform called “ARRAY 101.” According to The Hollywood Reporter , ARRAY 101 — launched by DuVernay’s multiplatform media company and arts collective ARRAY — is an online education initiative created to educate those who watch the company’s films and television series. DuVernay’s company is a culmination of “entertainment and socially conscious education,” Fast Company reports . “We’re going back into the catalog, creating very deep learning companions to help people elevate their understanding of what they’ve watched and go further to use the work as a springboard into deeper understanding,” DuVernay said. “As opposed to something you watched and felt bad about and just kept going.” In partnership with Participant , ARRAY 101’s focus for their first learning guide will be on “When...

Netflix and Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” miniseries has had a major impact on our social atmosphere and altered the way society as a whole views our criminal justice system. However, for others, its impact included calling their careers and credibility into question. One of whom happened to be Linda Fairstein, the former prosecutor responsible for the convictions of the Exonerated Five. Fairstein is now taking legal action against Netflix and Ava DuVernay after making claims that the miniseries “defamed” her. Released in May 2019, the four-part miniseries chronicled the true events of the arrests, trials, convictions, and exonerations of five teenagers of color — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — who became known as the Exonerated Five. In the miniseries, Fairstein was portrayed as a power-hungry prosecutor directing officers to coerce false confessions out of the five then-teenagers, while detectives held them in questioning for...