Ava DuVernay is one of our favorite filmmakers—not just because she makes great movies (though she does), but because she does everything else too. She started out as a publicist; she’s an activist and inspirer; she works for causes that are important to her. And one of those, since before she even became a director, is getting other films about people of color in front of audiences.
DuVernay founded AFFRM (African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement) back in 2010, working as a conduit between film festivals, theaters, and moviegoers to distribute and promote films like Restless City, Kinyarwanda, and her own (wonderful) Middle of Nowhere. Tuesday, the group rebranded itself ARRAY, announcing a broader focus in its releases (according to The Wrap , they’ll expand to push films by Latino, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern and female filmmakers).
And ARRAY has announced its next two releases: Los Angeles Film Festival Special Jury Prize winner Ayanda and the Mechanic (from South African writer-director Sara Blecher) and Out of My Hand (from Japanese director Takeshi Fukunaga), which also screened at LAFF. Both films will be out in November.