Ava DuVernay Says NEON Was Not the “Right Choice” for ‘Origin’: “It Had Lackluster Distribution”

“Origin” has taught Ava DuVernay an important lesson: to have distribution better suited to help her films find audiences. Speaking at the Marrakech International Film Festival, the filmmaker said her 2023 film is a “complicated” one for her. “It represents a big challenge and it’s part of a big lesson I’ve received as a filmmaker,” she said. “Ed Zwick, the director, said that a film’s success is not judged by the box office and reviews but by time, and I hope that time will be kind to this film.”

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“It had difficulties finding an audience,” DuVernay continued, speaking about the challenges she faced with distributor NEON. “It had lackluster distribution and a challenging market because of the subject matter. It came right at the beginning of the tragedy in Palestine and it talks about genocide, racism, Islamophobia, a lot of tough subjects that were uncomfortable for people.”

The director emphasized how underseen the film has been, having only gotten domestic distribution in the US and not reaching major global markets such as France or India, where she shot parts of the Venice Film Festival competition entry. “It hurts to make something and put all your love into it and it can’t quite reach the audience,” DuVernay said. “I have to believe in time. Hopefully, this film will be found later.”

The filmmaker concluded her thoughts on the subject by saying that “Origin” made her “think about what I need to do next time to have a stronger outcome.” “I chose NEON to do it and it was not the right choice for this film,” she said. “I will make a better choice next time.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, DuVernay spoke widely about the challenges she has faced throughout her career, especially as a Black female filmmaker in the US. “It’s exhausting,” she sighed. “My white male counterparts don’t have to do all of this. I have to build a three-building campus, find distribution for myself, liaise with other women… For a long time I would complain and feel bad about it but it’s the way it is. We are either going to complain about it or make the space for ourselves.”

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By three-building campus, the director is referring to her Array headquarters in Los Angeles, where she often hosts community screenings at the 50-seater in-house theatre. Engaging with the community and using cinema to expand young people’s point of view on the world is key to the director and producer, who expressed great concern over the future of her country following Donald Trump’s reelection. 

“My country is run by criminals and that criminality is seen completely different than a Black kid in the corner that might buy marijuana,” she said, referring to the election but also to her critically acclaimed Netflix documentary “13th,” about the history of racial inequality in the US focusing on how the country’s prison system is disproportionately occupied by African-Americans.

“The Black kid is in prison for years and criminals are reelected and making electric cars,” said DuVernay. “In the 14th amendment, there is a clause that says that any elected official who brings tyranny into their office can’t be reelected. It’s in the constitution, but let’s ignore it this time. It’s absurd, it’s disingenuous.” 

DuVernay highlighted how the US doesn’t offer government assistance to filmmakers and there is no government agency dedicated to supporting filmmaking, like in many other countries in the world. “In fact, our next president is going to eliminate the Department of Education, so there won’t be any part of our government focused on educating people and certainly not focused on art,” she explained.

Asked if she believes there has been progress for female and Black filmmakers in the US since she began making movies twenty years ago, DuVernay was sceptical but reiterated she tries to remain hopeful, “There is definitely progress, but it is very selective, it is progress for some and not for all so, in some ways, it feels false.”

Commenting on how she became the first ever Black female American filmmaker to get a 100 million dollar budget with “A Wrinkle in Time,” DuVernay said, “One person having a 100 million dollar is one person. It’s not change. It’s progress for me, but not our whole industry.”