While Ava DuVernay is one of Hollywood's most formidable filmmakers now, her career didn't begin in cinema. Before working in film, DuVernay was running her own public relations firm, where she represented filmmakers. "When people tell [my story], it's about race and gender, 'Black woman director,' but my story's also really about age, because I didn't pick up a camera until I was 32," she told Refinery 29.
Basically? Filmmaking is a lucrative job for DuVernay now, but it started as just a side gig. She told Elle, "I knew that as a Black woman in this industry, I wouldn't have people knocking down my door to give me money for my projects, so I was happy to make them on the side while working my day job."
DuVernay's first film was a documentary short called "Saturday Night Life" in 2006, and she spent $6,000 of her own money to produce it, per Colorado State University. As she explained, "I was always around [filmmakers]. I [started thinking], 'They're just regular people, like me, with ideas. I've got ideas.' That's literally how it started." DuVernay continued making documentaries since she was able to self-fund the projects, but she did eventually transition to making full-length films. Her first was 2010's "I Will Follow," which cost her $50,000. That's one expensive hobby.
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