Didn't want to be 'social justice girl': Ava DuVernay

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay says she was initially averse to making films on sociopolitical subjects as she did not want to be branded as a "social justice girl". The director said after receiving critical acclaim for her films "Middle of Nowhere" and "Selma", every other script that came her way revolved around slavery.

"For a long time, I didn't want to be a social justice girl. After 'Middle of Nowhere', 'Selma' and then '13th' - I get every slavery script. "After ('A Wrinkle in Time'), all I wanted was to tell something true, and something that was real, and I went right back to the place I said I didn't want to go. I realised, 'You are social justice girl - social justice woman.' And that's ok," the Oscar-nominated director said.

She was speaking at The Hollywood Reporter's TV Director Roundtable. DuVernay said the probability of being "pigeon-holed" in the industry or emerging a role model because of the projects she veers towards does not affect her anymore.

However, the director said choosing to direct a particular project is an "intimate process". "This is what lives on when I'm done. It's a very intimate process, the choosing. I've got to just like it for myself. I'm tethered to these things for years. I also don't have children — these films are my children, these projects are my children. My name is on this, that matters to me. This is what lives on when I'm done. It's a very intimate process, the choosing.

"I trust myself enough to know I'm not choosing things that are irresponsible for myself, so they wouldn't be irresponsible to the people who may look up to me for whatever reason," she said. DuVernay's Netflix limited series "When They See Us", centred around the Central Park Five, is currently streaming.

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