Ava DuVernay continues to show her ongoing commitment to representation in filmmaking.
The “When They See Us” director announced Monday that her upcoming anthology series for OWN, “Cherish the Day,” has a production crew that’s over 50% women, including 18 female department heads.
“Please never let folks tell you it’s not possible,” DuVernay wrote on Twitter. “‘We can’t find women to do that job.’ Nonsense. We achieved full gender parity on our new show CHERISH THE DAY with a production crew of over 50% women, including 18 lady department heads.”
“Because we tried and made it so,” she added.
DuVernay later tweeted a photo showing her with other women who work on the set of “Cherish the Day.”
“Imagine saying in 2019 that you can’t find a woman to do any job on a film set and do it damn well,” the director wrote in a caption, also celebrating the women and their male colleagues who “worked for and with us.”
“To all my fellow show creators: let’s create a new normal,” she added.
DuVernay has often used her platform to fight for gender equality, inclusion and representation.
The Oscar-nominated director told Marie Claire in March that as a Black woman in filmmaking, she’s consistently working in “a space that is not very welcoming.”
In 2018, DuVernay, who was a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury, was one of 82 women in the film industry to march up the festival’s red carpet to protest gender inequality.
The number 82 was significant. Eighty-two films directed by women had been featured in the festival’s main competition throughout its decadeslong history, compared to over 1,600 films by male directors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2010, DuVernay founded the film collective Array. As one of the collective’s various entities, Array Releasing distributes independent films with a mission to amplify work by female directors and people of color globally.
Speaking about “Cherish the Day,” Oprah Winfrey, CEO of OWN, told Deadline that DuVernay “continues to break down barriers as a trailblazer.”
“We are so proud that Ava has a space at OWN to provide opportunity for new voices and faces in the entertainment industry,” Winfrey added.
DuVernay is an executive producer for “Cherish the Day,” through her collective’s production company Array Filmworks, and via Warner Horizon Scripted Television, Deadline reported.
Warner Bros. Television and DuVernay announced last year that she had signed a multiyear and multigenre deal with the company.