When They See Us is a four-part series on Netflix, looking into the case of the Central Park Jogger in 1989. The powerful show was created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay. Here’s everything you need to know about the American filmmaker, including what else she has created.
Who is Ava DuVernay?
When They See Us on Netflix was created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay.
She is an American filmmaker and film distributor who has been behind a number of hit films.
DuVernay is best known as the director of Selma, which was a 2014 historical drama film based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.
The film led to her becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director.
Her work has also twice been nominated at the Oscars with Selma in the category for Best Picture as well as her documentary 13th in the category for best documentary feature.
DuVernay’s documentary 13th also aired on Netflix and examined the mass incarceration of African Americans in the USA.
WHERE WAS WHEN THEY SEE US FILMED?
Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling all starred in her big-budget 2018 fantasy adventure film A Wrinkle in Time.
DuVernay has also worked on the small screen overseeing the show Queen Sugar as well as her CBS limited series The Red Line.
She is currently working on her own Anthology series called Cherish the Day, which will appear on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
DuVernay was originally born in Lynwood California in 1972 before she went on to study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Starting out in public relations for films like Dreamgirls and Spy Kids, DuVernay originally ran her own marketing company.
She decided to make the switch to filmmaking in 2005 when she made her first short film Saturday Night Life.
WHO IS IN THE CAST OF WHEN THEY SEE US?
Her latest television series When They See Us first premiered on Netflix on May 31 to widespread critical acclaim.
She recently told The Guardian that she needed her filmmaking experience so far to be able to make the show.
She said: “I needed the scale of Wrinkle to tell a story this candidly.
“I needed to understand the criminal justice system from the work I did on 13th, I needed Middle of Nowhere to know what I knew about the families, the mothers and wives.
“It’s me imbibing and ingesting it and presenting it in another way.”
WHEN THEY SEE US NETFLIX RELEASE DATE, CAST, TRAILER, PLOT
On June 12, Netflix announced on Twitter that When They See Us had been the most watched series on Netflix every day since it premiered on May 31.
When They See Us follows the story of Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, and Kevin Richardson across a 25 year time span.
The group of boys, who were then aged between 14 and 16, were wrongly convicted of the beating and rape of a 28-year-old investment banker on 19 April 1989.
They were not exonerated until 13 years later when a convicted rapist named Matias Reyes confessed to the crime.
DuVernay began the project when one of the men named Raymond Santana Tweeted her that her next project should be about the Central Park Five.
She replied to him in a direct message on the social media platform and began work on mapping out what the story could be.
DuVernay sat down with US host Oprah Winfrey and the exonerated men to discuss the show in a new Netflix special called Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now.
She said: “The goal was to create something that stuck to your ribs and wasn’t junk food. It was to create something that was going to be a catalyst for conversation.”
When They See Us is available on Netflix now
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