Ava DuVernay achieved gender parity with her show 'Cherish the Day'
The Oprah Winfrey Network programme has seen the 37-year-old star pull together a production crew of over 50 per cent women - which includes 18 female department heads - and she hit out at the notion it can't be done on other projects.
9 November 2019
Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Please never let folks tell you it's not possible. 'We can't find women to do that job.' Nonsense.
"We achieved full gender parity on our new show 'CHERISH THE DAY' with a production crew of over 50% women, including 18 lady department heads. Because we tried and made it so."
The series - which is set to premiere in 2020 - also features women working across a whole range of disciplines, including directing, writing, camera, set design, production design, casting, sound, transportation, hair, makeup, editing and stunts.
Oprah added: "Ava continues to break down barriers as a trailblazer. Achieving a production crew of over 50% women is an incredible accomplishment and we are so proud that Ava has a space at OWN to provide opportunity for new voices and faces in the entertainment industry."
Meanwhile, the 'When They See Us' director has hit out after Academy Awards bosses disqualified Nigeria's submission for the Best International Feature Film category - Genevieve Nnaji's 'Lionheart' - because its main language is English.
Although the film is partially in the Igbo language of Nigeria, it is mostly in English, and due to an Academy rule that states entries in the category must have "a predominantly non-English dialogue track" it has been ruled out of contention.
Ava tweeted: "To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria's first-ever submission for Best International Feature because it's in English.
"But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?"
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