In the conduct of research by their many acclaimed projects, Ava DuVernay has sifted through thousands of hours of footage documenting the brutality of the police. “I am unfortunately kind of desensitized to it, so many of the racist, violent images because I have to use a lot in my work,” said the director in a recent virtual The Ellen DeGeneres Show the appearance. As a result, Ava was surprised by his reaction to the video of George Floyd being killed by police officer Derek Chauvin: “it was very shocking to me why George Floyd video just brought me to my knees.”
“We let the cops who abuse off the hook by allowing them to go back in the society.”
After some questioning, Ava infer a reason: “we did It because in reality saw both parties faces perfectly framed . . . Was both men, right in his face, right into the lens of a pleading for his life, and one of taking your life.” Ava went on to explain how many police officers have benefited from a level of anonymity. “It made Me realize that we have left the police abusers off the hook, by allowing them to go back in the society and the kind of disappear,” he said. And while the names of the victims of the brutality of the police are widely circulated and remembered, with reason, the names of the officers are often forgotten. “This invisibility allows us to tell a story that is incomplete,” said Ava.
In response, Ava has put in place the The Application Of The Law Of Accountability Of The Project (LEAP), which funds and raise the narration of the projects that offer a “change the narrative around the police abuse, misconduct, and murder of Black people,” Ava put another clip of his interview. Those wishing to participate can donate to help fund a project or to subscribe to a newsletter and alert to the finished projects can be promoted in social media. It’s also worth noting that 13Ava seminal 2016 documentary about mass incarceration, it is it is currently available on YouTube in its entirety.
