Ava DuVernay’scritically lauded filmOriginis now available to watch anywhere at home. The premiered at the Venice Film Festival to an outstanding ovation from the audience and was widely released in theatres through Neon. As of today, viewers can rent the film on various digital stores including Amazon, Apple TV+, and Google Play, among others. DuVernay adaptedOriginfrom the New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 bestsellerCaste: The Origin of Our Discontents, which explores the cultural roots of American racism from slavery toJim Crowand beyond in a whole new and gripping way, linking it to the caste system in India and antisemitism in Nazi Germany, in a story and interwoven with personal loss and love.
The film features a cast of acclaimed performers led byAunjanue Ellis-Tayloras Isabel Wilkerson andJon Bernthalas Brett. Other cast members includeNiecy Nash-Betts,Emily Yancy,Finn Wittrock,Victoria Pedretti,Jasmine Cephas Jones,Isha Blaaker,Vera Farmiga,Audra McDonald,Connie Nielsen,Blair Underwood,Nick Offerman,Stephanie March, andMyles Frost. DuVernay serves as the writer, director, and producer alongsidePaul Garnes.Collider’sRoss Bonaimereviewedthe film at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, noting that while it offers a great conclusion, the journey to that conclusion is bumpy, and the first part of the film is not captivating enough.
Originhas recently been awarded Best Drama,Best Directorand Best Actress by the African American Film Critics Association, also securing NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture, Directing in a Motion Picture, Actress in a Motion Picture, and Youth Performance in a Motion Picture.
What Has Ava DuVernay Made Before?
DuVernay is known for creating movies and TV shows that critique society, especially in issues relating to race, gender, and class. She began her career as a writer-director in the 2000s. Her breakthrough came in 2014 when she directedSelma, a film about Rev DrMartin Luther King. The film was nominated for several categories in the 87th Academy Awards and was the only film nominated hailing from a director of color. She later partnered with Netflix on the limited seriesWhen They See Usbased on the stories of the Central Park Seven.
The unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how lives today are defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
