Tag: Ava DuVernay

Colin In Black & White

Release Date:  10/29/21 – Miniseries; Netflix
Genre:  Drama/biography
Rating:  NR
Directors:  Ava DuVernay, Sheldon Candis, Robert Townsend, Angel Kristi Williams, Kenny Leon.
Studio(s):  ARRAY Filmworks, Netflix

Cast:  Colin Kaepernick (Narrator), Jaden Michael (Young Colin Kaepernick), Amarr (Eddie), Mace Coronel (Jake), Howard M. Lockie (Coach Parker), Chris O’Neal (Dwayne), Klarke Pipkin (Crystal).

Story:  The six-episode scripted drama, created by Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick, chronicles Kaepernick’s coming-of-age tackling the obstacles of race, class and culture as the Black adopted child of a white family in Central California. Kaepernick narrates the tale as high school Colin (Jaden Michael) faces adversity on his way to becoming an All-Pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and later a cultural icon and activist.  Nick Offerman and Mary-Louise Parker play Colin’s parents Rick and Teresa, while Kaepernick’s voice guides viewers through historical and contemporary contextual moments.  The series is executive produced by DuVernay, Kaepernick and Michael Starrbury, the latter of whom wrote the series.  Source:  Deadline.

Trailer:

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When They See Us

a/k/a Central Park Five

Release Date:  5/31/19; Limited Series – Netflix
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Ava DuVernay
Studio(s):   Forward Movement, Harpo Films, Participant Media, Tribeca Productions, Netflix.
Cast:  Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Justin Cunningham, Freddy Miyares, Jharrel Jerome, Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Chris Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury.

Story:  Four-part limited series about the Central Park Five, a group of teenagers from Harlem — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — who 30 years ago were wrongly convicted of rape.  The series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

Ava DuVernay, who created and directed the film, said in a statement, “In 1989, five black and brown teen boys were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit and branded The Central Park Five, a moniker that has followed them since that time.  In 2019, our series gives the five men a platform to finally raise their voices and tell their full stories.  In doing so, Korey, Antron, Raymond, Kevin and Yusef also tell the story of many young people of color unjustly ensnared in the criminal justice system.  Sources:  TV Line; Coming Soon.

Trailer:

 

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A Wrinkle In Time

Release Date:  3/9/18; In Theaters
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: Unknown
Running Time:  Unknown
Director:  Ava DuVernay

Studio(s):   Walt Disney Pictures, Whitaker Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Cast:  Storm Reid (Meg Murry), Oprah Winfrey (Mrs. Which), Chris Pine (Dr. Alex Murry), Reese Witherspoon (Mrs. Whatsit), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Dr. Kate Murry), Mindy Kaling (Mrs. Who), Michael Peña (Red), André Holland (Principal Jenkins).

Story:   Follows Meg Murry (Storm Reid), a young girl traumatized by the disappearance of her scientist father (Pine) years before. She finds herself on an interplanetary journey with a schoolmate and her younger brother to find her father. They are aided by a trio of supernatural beings: Mrs. Whatsit (Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Winfrey).  Source:  Movie Insider.

Trailer:

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Selma

Selma teaser poster

Release Date:  January 9, 2015
Genre:  Drama/Biography
Rating: Unknown
Studio:  Paramount Pictures, Cloud Eight Films, Celador Films,
Harpo Films, Pathe, Plan B Entertainment, Lee Daniels Entertainment
Director:  Ava DuVernay

Cast:  David Oyelowo (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Oprah Winfrey (Annie Lee Cooper), Carmen Ejogo (Coretta Scott King), Lorraine Toussaint (Amelia Boynton), Giovanni Ribisi (Lee C. White), Tim Roth (George Wallace), Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Fred Gray), Common (James Bevel), Tom Wilkinson (President Lyndon B. Johnson), Tessa Thompson (Diane Nash), Dylan Baker (J. Edgar Hoover), Wendell Pierce (Reverend Hosea Williams), Niecy Nash (Richie Jean Jackson), Lakeith Stanfield (Jimmie Lee Jackson).

Story:  The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement.  Source(s): AFI Fest.

Trailer: 

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