Ava DuVernay signs exclusive podcast deal with Spotify

Her film distribution company Array is expected to produce several scripted and unscripted shows

Jan 21, 2021

Acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay has signed an exclusive podcasting deal with Spotify.

Under the multi-year collaboration, DuVernay’s film distribution company Array is expected to produce several scripted and unscripted shows, per TheWrap. Array president Sarah Bremne will oversee the projects. DuVernay credits Lydia Polgreen of Gimlet, the Spotify-owned podcasting studio, for influencing her decision to sign the deal.

“Recognizing the undeniable power of voice and sound, I’m thrilled to extend Array’s storytelling into the realm of podcasts,” DuVernay said in a statement. “The opportunity to work with Lydia Polgreen and her passionate team drew us to Spotify as a home for our audio narratives and we couldn’t be more excited to begin this new creative journey.”

We are thrilled to announce our first podcast partnership with @Spotify creating scripted and unscripted social impact content bringing new stories to Spotify’s global audience. #ARRAYNow

Visit the link below for the full story: https://t.co/3EFngoJacJ pic.twitter.com/8DFs03Z3R3
— ARRAY (@ARRAYNow) January 21, 2021

Spotify said in a press release that DuVernay’s upcoming podcasts will “amplify a variety of voices and perspectives.”

“Ava DuVernay and her team at Array are at the forefront of telling powerful stories about the most pressing issues of our time,” Polgreen said. “We’re so excited to bring their passion for lifting up forgotten and neglected voices to life in audio.”

DuVernay’s partnership with Spotify follows the announcement that she is teaming with Warner Bros. executive Peter Roth to bring more diversity to Hollywood crews, theGRIO previously reported.

The award-winning filmmaker is determined to make sure the behind the scenes talent is just as diverse as the talent on screen.

Ava DuVernay — (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

She told the LATimes of her partnership with Roth, “I’ve never had the experience of being so closely connected with someone who’s probably, just on paper, the polar opposite of me — not a woman, not Black, not my age and certainly not anyone with as much power as Peter has…it serves as a model for the kinds of relationship[s] that we can be in, in our industry.”

DuVernay signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. TV in 2018, a pivotal step in her work towards the change she is seeking. According to the LA Times, “DuVernay and her team have assembled a database of below-the-line talent designed to bridge the hiring gap for women and people of color in the entertainment industry.”

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