Ava DuVernay is launching a curated film series in Los Angeles showcasing emerging artists, female filmmakers and directors from underrepresented backgrounds, DuVernay’s non-profit organization ARRAY Alliance announced Friday.
ARRAY 360 will be six weeks of cinema, community and conversation hosted in LA’s historic Filipinotown starting on Sept. 27 and running through Nov. 2. The screening space for the films, including work by Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley and Mati Diop, among others, will be hosted on the ARRAY Creative Campus at the Amanda Theater.
As part of the series, DuVernay is also hosting a weekend marathon of the films of the late John Singleton, who passed away earlier this year. ARRAY 360 will also feature a showcase of Filipinx cinema from the neighborhood and a conversation between DuVernay and director Michael Mann. His appearance will also include a centerpiece screening of his 2004 film “Collateral” starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.
“As a model, ARRAY does steep itself in inclusion models to correct long-held absences. We believe in balance from the beginning. Our ARRAY Creative Campus was built with this belonging in mind from the first day and ARRAY 360 is a reflection of our mantra that everyone has a place in true cinema,” DuVernay and ARRAY said in a statement.
“In addition to paying tribute to exquisite filmmakers, some of whose work has gone underappreciated, our ARRAY 360 series strives to connect with audiences that don’t always see themselves reflected on screen,” Mercedes Cooper, director of programming and curator of the series, said in a statement. “Our mission is to amplify varied voices and visions, to prioritize them and to center them.”
The opening weekend of ARRAY 360 will showcase “A Woman’s Work,” a two-day program highlighting work by trailblazers Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Kathleen Collins, Marilou Diaz-Araya and Suzana Amaral. Palcy herself will be in attendance,
along with the late Collins’ daughter, Nina Collins.
The closing weekend of the festival will show the latest films by the late Agnès Varda and Mati Diop. “Varda by Agnès,” the French auteur’s final film, will be presented by her daughter Rosalie Varda. And Diop’s “Atlantics,” which was acquired by Netflix out of the Cannes Film Festival,, will be presented by Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty.
Tickets for individual events are free and open to the public with advance registration at www.360array.com, along with more info on the full lineup. Seating will be granted on a first come, first serve basis.