Ava DuVernay

The studios aren't lining up to make films about black protagonists, black people being autonomous and independent. ”

I'm a big people watcher and a people talker. The beautiful thing about being an artist and a creative person is that you can get an idea from anywhere, and I'm always on the hunt for them. ”

There's something very important about films about black women and girls being made by black women. It's a reflection as opposed to an interpretation. ”

I don't even really see sit-ins and marches as passive. I see them as quite assertive. I see those as emotionally aggressive tactics. I see people putting their lives on the line and being bold and brave. ”

I think that black people making art, women making art, and certainly black women making art is a disruptive endeavor - and it's one that I enjoy extremely. ”

I spent a whole 12 years helping other people tell their stories as a publicist, so just to be able to go and write and get behind the camera, that's my thing. ”

I want more girls to be able to see themselves behind the camera creating images we all enjoy, and I want to call attention to the fact that women directors are here all over the world. ”

It's not enough even to have one black Barbie... because black women are not a monolith. ”

I think I am a little jealous of women who have great girlfriends as adults. ”

I didn't have to learn Selma to make 'Selma.' I didn't have to research what kind of place this is. The people I love most in the world live in that part of the country. ”