# ARRAY: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay (2021)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-09-18
- Length: 1h 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021

## Summary

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explains how she transitioned from a successful Hollywood publicist to an independent filmmaker, self-financing her early shorts like Saturday Night Life and I Will Follow. She details the creation of the African American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) to distribute black cinema, which evolved into her production and distribution company, Array. DuVernay discusses the strategic challenges of directing Selma on a $20 million budget and the importance of maintaining creative control over her work.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=0) Introduction: Ava DuVernay and the Roots of ARRAY
- [4:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=279) Early Life, UCLA, and the Transition to Publicity
- [20:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=1218) Starting a Publicity Agency and Learning the Business
- [30:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=1825) The Catalyst: Working on Collateral and Digital Cameras
- [36:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=2189) Self-Financing Early Films and the First Short
- [54:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=3263) Creating AFFRM and Self-Distributing I Will Follow
- [59:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=3557) The David Oyelowo Connection and Funding Middle of Nowhere
- [1:05:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=3942) Sundance Success and the Pivot to Full-Time Filmmaking
- [1:11:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=4296) Directing Selma: Rewriting Scripts and Managing a $20M Budget
- [1:26:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-18-array-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-2021#t=5197) Building ARRAY: From Distribution to a Community Movement

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- ARRAY (company)
- African American Film Festival Releasing Movement (company)
- Selma (product)
- I Will Follow (product)
- Middle of Nowhere (product)
- 13th (product)
- When They See Us (product)
- A Wrinkle in Time (product)
- Collateral (product)
- Saturday Night Life (product)
- Sundance Film Festival (other)
- Palm Springs Short Film Festival (other)
- UCLA (other)
- David Oyelowo (other)
- Lee Daniels (other)
- Steven Spielberg (other)
- Prada (other)
- Netflix (other)

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- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 6 - Gary Hustwit (9/24)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-11-04-afterschool-podcast-episode-6-gary-hustwit-9-24) (Core77 Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Emmanuel Waters and Courtney Tucker of Old Hillside Bourbon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-03-06-founder-feature-emmanuel-waters-and-courtney-tucker-of-old-hillside-bourbon) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

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