Screenwriting 101: Ava DuVernay

“When you’re making a low-budget film for $50,000 or $200, 000, there’s nowhere to hide. It’s just people. Usually people talking. Or not talking. But you’re on these faces. You’re on behavior. So you really have to be able to understand that. And that comes from living, walking around, it comes from observing people, it comes from asking questions. I find that I’ve got to get out. You’ve got to be around people. The best thing is when you see people and you’re wondering, ‘What’s their story? How do they fit together? Where did they come from? Where are they going? What’s their connection?’ Sometimes I’ll even ask, and people want to talk. It may not be anything related to the work you’re writing that day, but that energy from people, that stuff is kind of like seeds on fertile ground.”

— Ava DuVernay

2013 Go Into The Story interview

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