ARRAY 360: Ava DuVernay’s Film Collective Opens New Theater with Wide-Ranging Curated Series

Tambay Obenson

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Nearly a decade since Ava DuVernay launched ARRAY, what was initially a small distribution company has grown to become a multimedia empire that now sits on a sprawling Los Angeles campus. The gated property in Historic Filipinotown contains, among several things, post-production facilities and a recently completed state-of-the-art, 50-seat theater that will screen ARRAY titles, work by local artists, and an annual film series, which was announced today, curated and funded by DuVernay’s non-profit ARRAY Alliance. Titled ARRAY 360, the program will bring together award-winning filmmakers and emerging artists for six weekends of cinema, community, and conversation.

ARRAY 360 will run from September 27 – November 2 at the all-new Amanda Theater, as the new screening space will be called. The inaugural slate features a celebration of women filmmakers including Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley, and Mati Diop, among others; a John Singleton retrospective; a showcase of Filipinx cinema from the neighborhood in which the theater is located; a conversation between Michael Mann and DuVernay; and a lineup of bold, emerging cinematic voices.

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The series will launch with “A Woman’s Work,” a two-day program highlighting the work of trailblazers Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Kathleen Collins, Marilou Diaz-Araya, and Suzana Amaral. Palcy will be in attendance, along with the late Collins’ daughter, Nina Collins.

Closing weekend will feature a duo of multi-generational filmmaking families, marking two Los Angeles premieres. “Visionary Varda” features the first and last film of the late legend Agnès Varda with the LA premiere of “Varda by Agnès,” and her debut 1955 feature “La Pointe Courte.” The films will be presented by Varda’s daughter, filmmaker Rosalie Varda. And “Diop Dynasty” showcases the recently remastered African classic “Hyenas” by seminal Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty, along with the Los Angeles debut of his niece Mati Diop’s Cannes 2019 award-winning drama “Atlantique.”

“As a model, ARRAY does steep itself in inclusion models to correct long-held absences,” said DuVernay. “Our ARRAY Creative Campus was built with this belonging in mind from the first day, and ARRAY 360 is a reflection of our mantra that everyone has a place in true cinema.”

Mercedes Cooper, Director of Programming and curator of the series, added, “In addition to paying tribute to exquisite filmmakers, some of whose work has gone underappreciated, our ARRAY 360 series strives to connect with audiences that don’t always see themselves reflected on screen. Our mission is to amplify varied voices and visions, to prioritize them and to center them.”

Tickets for individual events are free and open to the public with advance registration at www.360array.com.

The full series schedule follows:

Week 1

Friday, 9/27
Filmmaker Euzhan Palcy presents her seminal classic “Sugar Cane Alley” (1983) on opening night.

Saturday, 9/28
Nina Collins presents “Losing Ground” (1982) directed by her mother Kathleen Collins.
“Moral” (1982) by Marilou Diaz-Araya
“Hour of the Star” / “A Hora de Estrela” (1986, Brazil) by Suzana Amaral
“Wanda” (1970) by Barbara Loden

Week 2

Saturday, 10/5
Filipinx film program featuring directors and community leaders in post-screening talkbacks:
“Call Her Ganda” (2018) by PJ Raval
“Does Your Heart Beat Faster?” (1980) by Mike De Leon
“Once a Moth” (1976) by Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara
“Yellow Rose” (2019) by Diane Paragas

Week 3

Saturday, 10/12
Centerpiece screening of “Collateral” (2004) including conversation with director Michael Mann moderated by Ava DuVernay.

Week 4

Saturday, 10/19
Filmmakers Garrett Bradley and Sophia Nahli present their short nonfiction work, “Alone” and “A Love Song for Latasha,” related to the theme of reclaiming narratives.

The Broad @ ARRAY returns with artists Shirin Neshat and Garrett Bradley in conversation with screenings of their work, “Land of Dreams” and “America” respectively.

Week 5

Saturday, 10/26 and Sunday 10/27
“The Cinema of John Singleton”: Films screening: “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Baby Boy,” “Boyz n the Hood,” “Four Brothers,” “Higher Learning,” “Poetic Justice,” “Rosewood,” “Shaft.”

Week 6

Friday, 11/1
Special guests to discuss the Diop’s generational family filmmaking legacy. Atlantique (2019, LA Premiere) by Mati Diop and Hyenas (1992, LA Premiere of digital restoration) by Djibril Diop Mambéty.

Saturday, 11/2
Filmmaker Rosalie Varda presents tribute screenings of the first and last feature films directed by her mother, auteur Agnès Varda, La Pointe Courte (1956) and Varda by Agnès (2019, LA Premiere).

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