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]
Films
Under AFFRM
- March 2011: DuVernay's I Will Follow
- Grossed a per-screen-average of $11,563, and expanded from five screens in five cities to 22 screens in 15 cities after its first weekend
- December 2011: Kinyarwanda
- 2011 Sundance Audience Award-winner
- April 2012: Restless City by Andrew Dosunmu
- 2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection
- October 2012: DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere
- Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for Best Director
- 2013: Storm Saulter's Better Mus' Come and Neil Drumming's Big Words
- 2014: BP Oil Spill documentary Vanishing Pearls by Nailah Jefferson and 25 To Life by Mike L. Brown
As ARRAY
2015
- Mississippi Damned directed by Tina Mabry, online distribution only through Netflix
- Ayanda directed by Sara Blecher
- Out of My Hand directed by Takeshi Fukunaga
African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement's approach to distribution includes the incorporation of a grassroots collective of local Black film organizations who assist with local marketing and venue booking, as well as local publicity of AFFRM's films. The organizations include:
- Atlanta, GA: BronzeLens Film Festival[5]
- Harlem, NY: Imagenation[6]
- Houston, TX: Houston Museum of African American Culture[7]
- New York, NY: Urbanworld Film Festival[8]
- Philadelphia, PA: Reel Black Film Series
- Seattle, WA: Langston Hughes African American Performing Arts Institute[9]
- Washington, DC: Parallel Film Collective[10]
2016
- Echo Park directed by Amanda Marsalis
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.
- ^ "2014 Jury". BronzeLens Film Festival. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ Kgama, Moikgantsi (November 22, 2014). "25 To Life: A Film About Howard University, HIV & Honesty". Imagenation. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ "25 to Life". Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC). December 1, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ "2012 Urbanworld Film Festival Schedule" (PDF). Urbanworld. September 22, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ "Film Festival – AFFRM: African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement". Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ "Born Local. Growing Global". Parallel Film Collective. Retrieved March 20, 2015.