Ava DuVernay is making sure we know about as many amazing women making movies as possible. She isn’t shy about using her platform to promote them. She started Tuesday off by announcing the first ever Getty Images ARRAY grant for photographers and filmmakers of diverse and inclusive visual stories. ARRAY Now, founded by DuVernay in 2010, is an African-American film festival collective that “amplifies the work of people of color and women filmmakers globally”. The grant offers four separate $5000 prizes with a June 8 application deadline.
DuVernay also made sure to let us know via Twitter that Cathy Yan is set to direct Margot Robbie in DC’s upcoming Harley Quinn film. Robbie helped make the Harley movie happen after the success of Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman. A Chinese-American rising star, Yan premiered her first film, Dead Pigs (2018), at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section. Yan joins Jenkins and DuVernay (who is set to direct DC’s New Gods) as the third female director and first female Asian director of a DC franchise film.
Not one to forget about her homies, Ava DuVernay also tweeted out the announcement that Victoria Mahoney is slated as the second unit director for Star Wars: Episode IX. Mahoney has directed episodes of “Queen Sugar”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “American Crime”. She also directed independent film, Yelling at the Sky (2012), starring Zoë Kravitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jason Clarke, and Gabourey Sidibe.
Happy to share this historic news. A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away. First unit director #JJAbrams. Second unit director @VictoriaMahoney. #StarWarsE9 #StarWars pic.twitter.com/s689jv9I4u
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 17, 2018
Women of Color are coming for the film industry and your favorite franchise, folks, so be warned!
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