"Trying to describe the magnitude of Ava DuVernay’s presence on this Earth seems incredibly difficult, if not impossible, maybe because I cannot fully process it yet. I first came across Ava the way I think most of us did: a name we had heard mixed with names of white guy directors we already knew, or had been familiar with. Her name was usually positioned as an anomaly, but not usually directly for reasons crediting her talent — more for being the first black woman to occupy certain spaces, and for doing so unapologetically. Ava was, in fact, an anomaly based on reasons purely about her race and gender, but I think we, her audience, quickly realized that her work, was in itself an anomaly too. Perhaps you came across Ava's work how I did, through her Oscar-nominated film Selma, or maybe more recently from her TV show Queen Sugar or her unequivocal, startling call for justice that is her Oscar-nominated documentary 13th. However you have interacted with Ava’s work, it is doubtless that it is something very rare and very special. Ava’s work is innovative not only for its diversity, but for its representation — the sacredness of how it feels to for the first time see someone who physically looks like you, but also is a multi-dimensional, complicated being like you.
In meeting Ava for the first time, in the pre-production office for her upcoming film A Wrinkle In Time, I was met with open arms and an excited smile on her face. I was overwhelmed and still am so humbled by her generosity, her warmth, her immense dedication to what she believes in. Her work and her voice (which she is generous enough to share on Twitter and Instagram) astound me in that they always require us to stay challenged. The goal is never to look over and ignore the things that may hold us back or that might separate us, but instead to address, question, challenge, and reframe them. I cannot think of a more giving artist/audience relationship than that — when the artist is so caring, that their work asks us to examine ourselves and our relationships to each other, in safe, accepting environments like the ones (both literal and fictional) that Ava has created. I feel so incredibly grateful for how she lets us take from her fountain of knowledge, both in what she lets us witness on screen and personally, the guidance and mentorship she has offered me in my life. Ava is a giving tree. Perhaps the greatest thing about her and her work is how she believes in you: She believes in her audience, she believes all of us deserve to see ourselves as a right, she tells stories of people finding the strength to believe in themselves. I feel so overwhelmed and grateful that she believes in me." — Rowan Blanchard
It was a match made on social media. Ava DuVernay, the director of the Oscar-nominated civil-rights epic Selma, and Rowan Blanchard, the teen star of Girl Meets World and an outspoken activist, followed each other on Twitter, and now their mutual admiration has led to a major collaboration. When Ava was putting together her latest feature — Disney’s $100 million adaptation of the classic children’s book A Wrinkle in Time, starring 14-year-old Storm Reid as space traveler Meg Murry — she cast Rowan in a crucial supporting role. Teen Vogue brought the pair together to talk about making tough choices, creating your own path, and letting go of fear.
Rowan Blanchard: Hi, Ava!
Ava DuVernay: Hey, Rowan!
RB: The first thing I wanted to ask is, what led you to become a director?
AD: I was a movie publicist, and on set we see different parts of the process. But a director has a certain domain over what is being made. So I was attracted to that kind of decision-making and world-building. After 10 or 12 years of watching other people— mostly men—do it, I decided to give it a try. The seed got planted when I was on the set of Collateral. That movie took place in East L.A., and there were all these black and brown people in East L.A., and I thought, 'This is basically where I live. Why can’t I tell stories of black and brown people from this place?'
RB: I always thought of films through a directorial lens. A friend asked me two or three years ago if I would ever direct. For some reason, I answered, 'No, I don’t think I could do it. It feels like it would be too hard.' I think it was partially because you just unconsciously feel that because of your gender—or what- ever else has held you back at other times—you can’t go as far as other people. Discovering your work, and the work of other female directors, pushed me to want to direct.
AD: It’s exciting for me to hear. I’m thrilled that there’s a new generation of women who feel super empowered and ready to at least explore. You know, Rowan, a lot of actresses your age are just learning and may not have the ability to go deep. But there is a depth to your work. I think it’s from always learning and having your eyes open. It might come from your having started at a young age. I think it’s from being a true citizen of the world.
RB: How did directing become your passion? Is there a specific artist who inspired you?
AD: It wasn’t a particular artist. I am just a huge movie geek. I never really thought that I could make films for a living. By the time I figured out that I could, I was in my 30s.
RB: I don’t think I would have ever thought that I could be a director if I hadn’t watched what you were doing. One of the days I was shadowing you, you set me up with your script supervisor. She was telling me about how you guys have worked together since, I think, your first full-length film. You bring people up with you. How do you maintain that on such a large scale?
AD: The most fun way to make something is to make it with people you like to be around. I didn’t go to film school. I don’t know how it’s supposed to be done. All I know is I prefer to be around people I like all day. So I just make sure that my sets are like that. I had no money, and I needed to make something, so I reached out to the people I knew, and they all happened to be women—and people of color.
RB: I read A Wrinkle in Time in third grade, and it stuck with me for so long. What drove you to pick that story to tell?
AD: I work really hard for things. And then I say to myself, If this is for me, it’ll be mine. This thing fell in my lap—an odd, little beautiful thing that I had never thought about. Then when I read the book, I felt instantly that it was mine. I thought, 'Wow! If this is for me to do, they’ll offer it to me.' And they did. I said, 'I’ll do this, but I need to be able to do it my way.' So it was great that the studio supported my vision of it, which was to include girls of color and women of all ages and body sizes. And Meg is a completely different Meg [from the book], a biracial girl. I’m excited to bring that to the screen. It’s very unique—the way in which our biracial brothers and sisters are asked to navigate their place in society.
RB: Ava, what advice would you have given yourself when you were my age?
AD: If you’re truly open, truly learning, truly kind, and proceeding in a loving manner toward others, the path starts to appear. And the more you let go of fear and embrace discovery and exploration, the more beautiful things you’ll find.
RB: How do you deal with fear now?
AD: I let it fuel me. I examine it; I sit in it. Where is this coming from? Why do I feel this way? And then I just take it in like food. Because fear includes risk, bravery, and courage—all these things that are good are connected to fear. Shoot! I’m afraid to put out A Wrinkle in Time. But if it works, fantastic. If it doesn’t work, I got through it.
RB: It’s funny that you say you don’t know if people are ready for A Wrinkle in Time. I know I’m ready, and I think the world is ready. Why do you feel like people aren’t ready?
AD: Because these images are not usually rendered by women, and they’re not usually rendered by women of color. There is no black woman director who’s done a sci-fi fantasy epic, where people are hopping planets, flying on things, and a black girl saves the universe. It’s not been done. So I can’t say with total confidence, 'Oh, that’ll work.' I have to step into the fear of it and say, 'You know what? It’s worth a try. And I’m worthy to be the one in charge of it.'
RB: How does it feel to put something out into the world?
AD: Oh, my gosh! Well, you know the feeling—when you offer a piece of yourself and you hope that people see the value in it. I remember reading a review by the great critic Roger Ebert where he said, “The words ‘I love you’ are really a question.” The question is, “Do you love me back?” That’s what putting out a film is like: I give you this. Do you love me back?
RB: I’ve been making this group art project, Still Here, that I’m collecting and editing with Penguin Random House, and making that has been a very long, intimate process. It just feels so strange to turn the intimate outward. But I do believe that people are ready for A Wrinkle in Time, and I hope that people are ready for my book project. Wow! This has been a great therapy session. [Laughs]
Manicure by Michelle Saunders
Related:
- Rowan Blanchard Perfectly Explains What Adults Get Wrong About Young Activists
- Ava DuVernay Shared the SWEETEST A Wrinkle in Time Cast Tributes
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