Ava DuVernay hired all female directors for “Queen Sugar,” and they opened up about what that means to them
Ava DuVernay is on her way to Hollywood superstardom, and we couldn’t be happier. The Selma director has also been filming her Queen Sugar series for OWN. According to Vulture, on Queen Sugar, Ava DuVernay hired all women directors to work on the show, many of whom are getting their first TV directing jobs. Ava knows all about breaking barriers as a woman in Hollywood. Ava recently started filming an adaptation of the novel A Wrinkle in Time, which makes her the first woman of color to helm a movie with a budget over $100 million.
Ava DuVernay gave several women a huge gift in hiring them on Queen Sugar, and many of them were very grateful.
In Hollywood, directors are mostly men. It can be tough for a woman to break in. Oftentimes, even a woman with a successful independent film still won’t be hired for new projects. When Ava talks about these directors not being given a shot, she’s obviously indignant.
Ava said, “It would be different if they were working at the local library and I gave them an episode of television. These women have directed films, acclaimed films that have gone to festivals around the world. Independent films and TV are very similar in that you don’t have a lot of time. But in TV, you have more money. So how would you not be able to translate making something beautiful under time and money constraints when you’re given the blessing of more money, more tools, more crew under the same time pressure you already demonstrated that you can excel in?
It may sound like an obvious next step, but as one of Queen Sugar’s directors, Tanya Hamilton, says, it often isn’t.
“What Ava did ran counter to everything I have been told in every meeting I have gone to, which is that you can’t get the job because no one will hire you without previous experience, but nobody will give you that first opportunity so it’s a catch-22. What’s great is that Ava proved that it’s just nonsense.
Veteran Neema Barnette, who both produced and directed for Queen Sugar, was so pleased with Ava’s decision to give these women a chance.
She said, “I shed a few tears and I was elated and so proud of her. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day, but not only am I living to see it, I was going to be a part of it.
Ava helped put these women into the television directing scene, which is huge.
Director So Yong Kim has gotten work on several other shows since her work on Queen Sugar.
She said, "I feel very fortunate. What Ava wanted is happening with all of us. Isn’t it funny that people are like, 'Oh, we didn’t know there were that many women directors.' What do you mean?
Similarly, independent filmmaker Victoria Mahoney finally got her shot in the big leagues.
She said, “Ava called my jersey and put me in the game. I’ve been waiting for this.
Since her work on Ava’s series, Victoria has barely stopped working.
