Ava DuVernay – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

ONLY IN THEATERS – Review by Diane Carson

February 21, 2023February 25, 2023 Diane Carson Ava DuVernay, Carl Laemmle, documentary, Greg Laemmle, James Ivory, Kenneth Turan, Laemmle cinema chain, leonard maltin, Only in Theaters, Raphael Sbarge, universal studios

Only in Theaters honors the Laemmle commitment to arthouse cinema. An homage to the eighty-four-year old Laemmle cinema chain devoted to arthouse fare, the documentary Only in Theaters elucidates the dire prospects for immensely rewarding, but financially unprofitable, exhibition of independent and foreign productions. Beginning in 2019 at a Shabbat dinner, Greg and Tish Laemmle clearly and wholeheartedly celebrate and have realistic concerns over the future of the Laemmle theaters.

Reviews

ONLY IN THEATERS – Review by Lois Alter Mark

January 18, 2023January 21, 2023 Lois Alter Mark Ava DuVernay, cameron crowe, Carl Laemmle, James Ivory, Laemmle Theaters, Only in Theaters, Raphael Sbarge, universal pictures

A love letter to movies, Only in Theaters is a must-see for anyone who has experienced the emotional power of watching a film in a dark room with a group of strangers – in other words, everyone. As much as it’s a celebration of cinema, though, Raphael Sbarge’s surprisingly moving documentary about Laemmle Theaters also serves as a cautionary tale about the future of the industry in this age of streaming.

Reviews

DONKEYHEAD – Review by Rachel West

January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 Rachel West agam darshi, array, Ava DuVernay, canadian films., Deepa Mehta, Donkeyhead, Huse Madhavji, Marvin Ishmael, netflix, Sandy Sidhu, Stephen Lobo

Donkeyhead is a family drama centred on Mona (Darshi), a thirty-something woman who has returned to her family home to sort out her messy life as a failed writer. Soon, a short break turns into several years and then her father is diagnosed with cancer. After he takes a turn for the worse, Mona’s more successful siblings descend on the traditional Sikh family home, determined to take the reins and manage the situation better than Mona has. Family dynamics quickly come into play as Mona reconnects with her siblings and comes to terms with the life choices she has made in the past.

Reviews

IN OUR MOTHERS’ GARDENS – Review by Martha K Baker

May 7, 2021May 9, 2021 Martha K. Baker array, Ava DuVernay, Dr. Koko Zauditu Selassie, In Our Mothers’ Gardens, Shantrelle P. Lewis, tarana burke, Yolanda Sangweni

The title comes from a book by Alice Walker, who wrote: “How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers’ names.” The third documentary sponsored by filmmaker Ava DuVernay under the Array title bangs drums of Black family history. Director Shantrelle P. Lewis celebrates all things family by interviewing a raft of Black women about their ancestors. Some sit and reminisce, some cook and rail, some show up in old films or albums, some rehearse stories their mothers told about their mothers. The stories they tell are magnetic, and this film demands attention.

Reviews

IN OUR MOTHERS’ GARDENS – Review by Leslie Combemale

May 1, 2021May 2, 2021 Leslie Combemale array, Ava DuVernay, Dr. Koko Zauditu Selassie, In Our Mothers’ Gardens, Shantrelle P. Lewis, tarana burke, Yolanda Sangweni

In Our Mothers’ Gardens is a fearless, confessionalist record, from inside personal histories, of Black mothers and grandmothers, and it is steeped in Black love and culture. It can open the eyes of people who have no true understanding of the strength of family and matriarchy in Black communities. It is a celebration that reflects, through a wide diversity of real stories by Black women, the power, importance, influence, and, above all, the perspective, of Black matriarchy

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Ava DuVernay launches ARRAY Crew – Brandy McDonnell reports

March 10, 2021March 13, 2021 Brandy McDonnell array, ARRAY crew, Ava DuVernay, the week in women, twiw

Oscar-nominated producer and director Ava DuVernay (13th, Selma) has launched ARRAY Crew, a personnel database for Hollywood’s below-the-line crew members with a special focus on amplification of women, people of color and other underrepresented film and television professionals.

Commentaries Interviews

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, THE WHITE TIGER and South Asian Stories – Ashanti OMkar reports

January 23, 2021December 17, 2021 Ashanti OMkar amazon prime, Aravind Adiga, Ava DuVernay, indian cinema, netflix, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Ramin Bahrani, the white tiger

The White Tiger, the film adaptation of the Booker prize-winning book by Aravind Adiga, marks a new stage in the

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: DuVernay Adapts Wilkerson’s CASTE for Netflix – Brandy McDonnell reports

October 29, 2020October 31, 2020 Brandy McDonnell 0 Comments array, Ava DuVernay, caste, isabe; wilkerson, netflix, the week in women, twiw

Ava DuVernay will direct, write and produce the feature adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s acclaimed new book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The new project will reunite the Oscar-nominated moviemaker with Netflix, although it will be her first feature film for the streaming giant.

Reviews

MIU MIU WOMEN’S TALES – Review by Marilyn Ferdinand

September 22, 2020September 23, 2020 Marilyn Ferdinand (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments agnes varda, Ava DuVernay, chloe sevigny, haifaa al monsour, lucrecia martel, mati diop, miu miu. woman's tales, shorts

For roughly the past decade, Italian high-fashion brand Miu Miu, a subsidiary of Prada, has been commissioning and releasing short films from some of the world’s most renowned women directors. As long as the films include Miu Miu fashions and accessories, the directors have been free to express their own creative impulses and personalities. Within the series, film fans will recognize signature flourishes along with great invention.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: DuVernay to Produce, Narrate ONE PERFECT SHOT Docuseries – Brandy McDonnell reports

August 25, 2020August 30, 2020 Brandy McDonnell 0 Comments array, Ava DuVernay, docuseries, hbo max, one perfect shot, warner horizon

HBO Max has greenlit a new docuseries celebrating iconic movie moments guided by Hollywood’s most exhilarating cinematic voices. One Perfect Shot, a half-hour unscripted series, will be executive produced and narrated by Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winner Ava DuVernay and produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television with DuVernay’s production company, ARRAY Filmworks.

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