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Ava DuVernay Kicks Off AFFRM Membership Drive to Support Black, Brown and Female Filmmakers

”The money goes into a pot and we use it to distribute films,“ ”Selma“ director tells TheWrap

| May 4, 2015 @ 5:25 PM
Ava Duvernay on the Set of 'Selma' - Paramount Pictures

Ava Duvernay on the Set of 'Selma' - Paramount Pictures

Ava DuVernay‘s African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) has launched its second annual membership drive, in an effort to assist black, brown and female filmmakers.

“It’s important that we support filmmakers who are being excluded from the traditional ways of distributing their films,” DuVernay told TheWrap Monday.

Since 2011, AFFRM’s Array Releasing has distributed eight independent features including DuVernay’s “Middle of Nowhere,” which won the 2012 Sundance directing award and Alrick Brown’s “Kinyarwanda,” winner of the 2011 Sundance Audience Award.

Also Read: Oprah Winfrey, 'Selma' Director Ava DuVernay Partner on OWN Drama Series

“I financed AFFRM for the last four years out of my directing money,” said DuVernay, who founded the film releasing collective. “But last year we started to say, ‘hey, does anyone want to donate to this effort?’ And
we had a donor drive that we call a ‘rebel drive’…  and we had some 750 people who gave.”

The group’s 30-day membership campaign runs from May 4 through June 5 and is supported by such Hollywood insiders as “Selma” star David Oyelowo and “Dreamgirls” actress Anika Noni Rose.

Also Read: 'Selma' Director Ava DuVernay Tapped for CBS Pilot 'For Justice'

DuVernay is currently writing and will also executive produce and direct “Queen Sugar,” an original series based on a novel by Natalie Baszile for Oprah Winfrey‘s OWN.

Despite her busy schedule, DuVernay says she’ll continue to play an active role in AFFRM. “It’s a part of me and it’s just as important for me as the films that I make.”

AFFRM membership is open to all film enthusiasts. For details, go to the group’s website or watch the video below.

75 Eye-Popping Portraits From TheWrap's Sundance Studio (Exclusive Photos)

  • Sundance 2015 Portraits (Patrick Fraser)
  • "The D Train" star James Marsden, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Z for Zachariah" star Chris Pine, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Z for Zachariah" star Margot Robbie, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World" producer Adrian Grenier, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "James White" star Christopher Abbott, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "James White" star Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "James White" and "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" star Cynthia Nixon, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Nasty Baby" stars Alia Shawkat (l) and Kristen Wiig (r) with director Sebastian Silva, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • "The End of the Tour" star Mamie Gummer, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Frasher/TheWrap
  • "Misery Loves Comedy" star Kevin Smith, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Misery Loves Comedy" stars Kevin Smith and Kevin Pollack, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Nasty Baby" star Alia Shawkat, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" star Jason Isaacs, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" stars Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky, Cynthia Nixon, Saoirse Ronan (back row, l-r)and Hana Hayse, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" star Saoirse Ronan, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • YouTube star Flula, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "The D Train" star Jeffrey Tambor, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "The D Train" star Kathryn Hahn, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "The D Train" star Jack Black photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • "The End of the Tour" star Jason Segel, director James Ponsoldt (back row, l-r), Mickey Sumner and Mamie Gummer (front row, l-r), photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • YouTube star Olga Kay, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • "Z for Zachariah" star Margot Robbie, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Z for Zachariah" star Margot Robbie, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "Z for Zachariah" star Chris Pine, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "The Bronze" star Melissa Rauch, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • "The Bronze" star Gary Cole, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • "Experimenter" stars Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • Producer Christine Vachon, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
  • "The Overnight" producer Jason Schwartzman, photographed by Patrick Fraser at TheWrap's Kia photobooth during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 23, 2015. Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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  • Patrick Fraser/TheWrap
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Chris Pine, Keanu Reeves, Kristin Wiig, Lisa Kudrow, Margot Robbie, Alexander Skarsgard, Jeffrey Tambor and Jack Black among stars shot by photographer Patrick Fraser

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