Moments That Make Us: Ava DuVernay’s Path from Publicist to Visionary Filmmaker

To celebrate turning 60, Melinda French Gates sat down with iconic changemakers of all ages to talk about their biggest life transitions for a special series, “Moments That Make Us.” In this episode, she chats with award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay about her journey from being a publicist to making films, her society-shifting vision for the industry, the habit she wished she’d started earlier in life, and why it’s important not to have a fixed idea about yourself—no matter your age.


Check out all of the conversations in this series:
Megan Rapinoe:    • Moments That Make Us: The Radical Emp...  
Reese Witherspoon:    • Moments That Make Us: Reese Witherspo...  
Ava DuVernay:    • Moments That Make Us: Ava DuVernay’s ...  
Michelle Obama:    • Moments That Make Us: Michelle Obama ...  
Oprah Winfrey & Gayle King:    • Moments That Make Us: How Friendship ...  
Billie Jean King:    • Moments That Make Us: Billie Jean Kin...  
& don’t miss the Trailer! :    • Introducing "Moments That Make Us" wi...  

In this episode:
• 0:45 – How turning 50 felt and thoughts on “growing older”
• 3:39 – Advice for the transition from 30s to 40s
• 4:45 – Ava’s career transition from movie publicist to movie director and how she found the courage to make it
• 8:10 – Why Ava decided to make A Wrinkle in Time
o See more:    • A Wrinkle in Time Official US Trailer  
• 9:20 – Creating her own “liberated territory” and how it helps her as a filmmaker
• 11:25 – Why Ava is attracted to making social justice films
• 12:27 – Adapting the book Caste into the film (Origin)
o See more: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
o See more:    • Origin Trailer #1 (2024)  
• 13:42 – Advice for handling self-doubt and the importance of “god winks” moments
• 17:30 – How Ava learned about strong female leadership through her family
• 18:25 – The importance of owning the end-to-end experience of film
• 20:16 – How “being bored means being boring” and the joy of lifelong learning
• 21:40 – Advice for younger women
• 26:06 – The importance of small moments of joy throughout each day

Produced by Feee Films
Directed by Felicia Manning
Photography c/o Pivotal Ventures

Follow Melinda French Gates on:
Twitter/X: @melindagates
Facebook: @melindagates
LinkedIn: @melindagates
Instagram: @melindafrenchgates
YouTube: @melindafrenchgates

Follow Ava DuVernay on:
Instagram: @Ava