Opening Night: 14th
Ava DuVernay examines the enduring promises of the 14th Amendment through a powerful chorus of voices, joining us in person to discuss this vital new documentary.
Description
A decade after 13th (Doc Stories, 2016), Ava DuVernay returns to documentary filmmaking with a powerful companion piece examining the 14th Amendment and its enduring influence on American life. While 13th traced the legacy of abolishing slavery and how that amendment intersects with the American carceral system, 14th turns its attention to the sweeping protections enshrined in this vital addition to the US Constitution, including birthright citizenship, equal protection, due process, and limits on the power wielded by heads of state. Timely indeed! DuVernay brings together an extraordinary range of voices to participate in this towering feat of documentation, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Stacey Abrams, former Senator Jeff Flake, and historian Eric Foner. Their perspectives illuminate the enduring tensions surrounding a constitutional promise forged during Reconstruction and its continuing significance today. Expansive in scope and deeply engaged with the complexities of American democracy, 14th is a compelling examination of the rights and protections that define American citizenship. —Jessie Fairbanks
Biographies
Ava DuVernay was born in California and is a multi-hyphenate American filmmaker. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee for an Academy Award and Golden Globe. In 2011, she founded her independent distribution company ARRAY. In the documentary space, she directed This Is the Life (2008), which chronicles the alternative hip hop movement that flourished at the Good Life Cafe in LA, and the Academy Award-nominated Netflix documentary 13th (Doc Stories 2016), as well as two documentary shorts.