Brow Beat

Ava DuVernay and Oprah Will Discuss Trump, Mass Incarceration, and More in a New Netflix Special

Capitalizing on 13th’s recent Oscar nomination, Netflix has announced an interview special featuring director Ava DuVernay and her frequent collaborator Oprah Winfrey, set to premiere globally on Thursday. Running at 30 minutes, 13th: A Conversation With Oprah Winfrey & Ava DuVernay will look back at the making of the acclaimed film, explore reactions to it from around the world, and feature a wide-ranging discussion on the state of race, politics, and policy in the President Trump era.

“The truths revealed within 13th are stunning, and a brilliant primer for a much needed global conversation,” Lisa Nishimura, Netflix’s vice president of original documentaries, said in a statement. “The 13th interview special was born from an organic post-screening discussion between two of the most influential and insightful women in media, Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, who invite us to share in their personal feelings surrounding one of the most important issues of our time.”

Of this year’s Oscar nominees, 13th is among several documentaries that compellingly explore racial tensions in U.S. history, the others being Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America and Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro. Unlike those films, which each do so through the lens of a very distinct historical figure, DuVernay presents a broader view of the state of mass incarceration while conveying a sense of relative urgency. Accordingly, the film’s alignment with the current political climate should make for some substantive and illuminating conversation.