A filmmaker needs more than directing skills to make it in the big league, and an activist needs more than a political agenda to change the world. Ava DuVernay brings this point home in "Selma," the first major motion picture portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.
Prior to making "Selma," DuVernay developed her filmmaking skills by working in music, production, marketing, publicity and even as an actress before grabbing the megaphone with her directorial debut feature, "I Will Follow," in 2010.
"I've worked on nearly a hundred films as a crew member and I think I'm attuned to every level of the movie-making process," DuVernay tells The Japan Times. "I've never been able to afford film school, but on the other hand I really know how to talk to actors and the crew, how to get a project started and how to do the red carpets and the premieres. Many filmmakers are fearful of doing all that, but in the case of 'Selma' those skills really worked to my advantage. Right now, I'm seeing a lovely symbiosis between my old career and my new one."
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