ARRAY
 | |
| Formerly | African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film industry |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Ava DuVernay |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California U.S. |
Key people | Ava DuVernay |
| Products | Film distribution |
| Services | Film distribution Film marketing |
| Website | arraynow |
ARRAY, also known as ARRAY Now, is an independent distribution company launched by film maker and former publicist Ava DuVernay in 2010 under the name African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM). In 2015 the company rebranded itself as ARRAY.[1]
History
DuVernay launched the company in 2010 after her debut feature film I Will Follow failed to acquire distribution.
In May 2015 DuVernay held a 12-hour Rebel-a-thon on Twitter to raise funds for the company. For 12 hours black directors like Ryan Coogler, John Singleton, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Tina Mabry, Julie Dash and more answered questions from the general public in order to raise awareness for ARRAY and encourage people to donate funds.[2][3] Actors Thandie Newton, Kerry Washington and Jessica Chastain were among those who made substantial donations to the company.[4]
In 2016 ARRAY inked a deal partnering with Netflix to distribute their films online.[5] Since 2016 all ARRAY films have appeared exclusively on Netflix.
In 2019 the company created the Amanda cinema, named after founder Ava DuVernay's aunt, that was exclusively dedicated to showing films by people of color.
Films Distributed
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | I Will Follow | Ava DuVernay | [1] | |
| Kinyarwanda | Alrick Brown | Winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival | [2] | |
| 2012 | Restless City | Andrew Dosunmu | [3] | |
| Middle of Nowhere | Ava DuVernay | Winner of Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival | [4] | |
| 2013 | Better Mus' Come | Storm Saulter | [5] | |
| Big Words | Neil Drumming | [6] | ||
| 2014 | Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe à la Hache | Nailah Jefferson | [7] | |
| 2015 | Mississippi Damned | Tina Mabry | Premiered in 2009 but not distributed until 2015 | [8] |
| Out of My Hand | Takeshi Fukunaga | [9] | ||
| Ayanda | Sara Blecher | Special Jury Prize in the World Fiction Competition at the LA Film Festival | [10] | |
| 2016 | Echo Park | Amanda Marsalis | [11] | |
| Honeytrap | Rebecca Johnson | [12] | ||
| 2017 | Namour | Heidi Saman | [13] | |
| The House on Coco Road | Damani Baker | [14] | ||
| Teach Us All | Sonia Lowman | [15] | ||
| 2018 | Jewel's Catch One | C. Fitz | [16] | |
| Vaya | Akin Omotoso | Winner of Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Africa Movie Academy Awards | [17] | |
| Roll With Me | Lisa France | [18] | ||
| 2019 | The Burial of Kojo | Blitz Bazawule | [19] | |
| Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen | Heperi Mita | [20] | ||
| Burning Cane | Phillip Youmans | Winner of Best U.S. Narrative Film, Best Cinematography and Best Actor at the Tribeca Film Festival | [21] | |
| The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open | Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn | Winner of Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the Canadian Screen Awards | [22] | |
| 2020 | Jezebel | Numa Perrier | Winner of Best Feature and Best Director at the American Black Film Festival | [23] |
| They’ve Gotta Have Us | Simon Frederick | [24] | ||
| Justine | Stephanie Turner | [25] |
References
- ^ Cunningham, Todd. "Ava DuVernay's AFFRM Rebrands as ARRAY, Acquires 2 Films". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Bernstein, Paula. "Ava DuVernay Wants You to Be a Rebel and Join the Movement for Diverse Films". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Clarke, Ashley. "Ava DuVernay's Rebel-a-Thon offers symposium for black film-makers". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Whipp, Glenn. "Aiming to diversify storytelling, Ava DuVernay expands scope of film distribution collective". Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Santos, Nix. "Ava Duvernay's Array Releasing Partners With Netflix to Unleash 'Ashes and Embers'". Retrieved 28 February 2020.