Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ Sets Special Christmas Day Marathon Presentation For Guilds; Watch Exclusive Clip

Dominic Patten
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Ava DuVernay is handing out a big screen holiday gift on Christmas Day, but you can get a sneak peek right now.

The Oscar nominated filmmaker will be holding special presentations of her acclaimed Origin for Guild members on December 25. The screenings will be held on the West Coat at the Rodeo Screening Room in Beverly Hills at 11 am P and 2 pm PT on Christmas Day, and on the East Coast at the Tribeca Screening Room at 12 pm ET.

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Invitations are set to be emailed out this morning to members of the WGA, PGA, DGA, American Society of Cinematographers, American Cinema Editors and other Guilds, I’m told.

Having said that, we’ve take a look under the Cinema tree, so to speak, at a poignant exclusive clip from Origin, the most highly test film ever for distributor Neon and DuVernay, that captures the stratification of discrimination. See Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as author Isabel Wikerson detail a tale of love across the lines of hate from 1930s Germany:

“Christmas Day is my favorite day to see movies,” Origin director and writer DuVernay told Deadline of the decision to offer Origin almost a month before its January 19, 2024 release. “Something about being with family and friends and celebrating that togetherness.

“I remember when Selma opened on Christmas Day and I saw all kinds and cultures of people congregating around the film,” the filmmaker added. “It was incredibly meaningful. So, we wanted to create a space where folks in my hometown, who work in our industry, could bring their guests and experience Origin on Christmas. It’s a film about human dignity and that’s a beautiful day to think about such things.”

Based on Wilkerson’s 2020 bestseller Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, Origin digs for the truth of the connecting global and cultural roots of slavery in America and the segregation and violence of Jim Crow laws, to antisemitism, the Nazis’ systematic persecution of Jews and the horrors of the Holocaust. Travelling to India and elsewhere also, the Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Audra McDonald, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, and Connie Nielsen co-starring drama does a deep dive into our era’s often fraught political realities, domestic and international, as well as the revelations that can come from personal grief.

Neon acquired worldwide rights for the film on September 5, just before Origin’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where DuVernay was the first African American woman to be in the Competition lineup.

Since then, Origin has played at TIFF, other festivals and packed screenings around the globe in anticipation of next month’s full-scale debut. For those of you out and about this season, one of those packed screenings was at LA’s Ross House earlier this week, with Oscar winner Ben Affleck moderating a chat with DuVernay and offering much praise for the film. That Ross House screening saw multiple Oscar winner Sean Penn, plus Frances Fisher in attendance too .

Origin is produced by DuVernay and longtime professional partner Paul Garnes via her Array Filmworks.

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