Academy Award-winning director Ava DuVernay and actresses Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Niecy Nash-Betts sat down with BLACK ENTERPRISE to share the underlying theme of their new film, Origin.
The movie tells the story of author Isabel Wilkerson (Ellis-Taylor) as she writes her seminal 2020 book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents while also coping with personal tragedy. Both the book and film describe racism in the United States as an aspect of a caste system.
Origin was written, directed, and produced by DuVernay, who decided to turn the book into a film after reading it at the suggestion of Oprah Winfrey. Speaking with BE
, DuVernay explains what might’ve motivated Wilkerson to write and release the book during the heightened racial tensions of 2020.“In the film, our character, Isabel Wilkerson, is based on a real woman named Isabel Wilkerson who won the Pulitzer Prize and wrote a book called Caste,” DuVernay shares.
“Our film Origin really follows the making of that book. You’re able to chronicle or watch Isabel Wilkerson chronicle, investigate, uncover the mysteries of this social phenomenon, and while doing so, also see that she’s grappling with some deeply personal challenges, particularly some issues around grief and loss.”
The film sees Wilkerson traveling to Germany and India as part of her research into the interconnectedness of American racism and caste systems. Through deep dives with German academics and Dalits in India, Wilkerson unravels the link and lays it out in her award-winning book.
“I’ve always wanted to go to India but never had,” Ellis-Taylor says. “And the great part of that, the extension of that, is that I was there talking to real Dalits and sitting down with them and hearing their stories and being around them and immersed in their lives.”
Niecy Nash’s character, Marion, plays a pivotal role in the film as the beloved cousin of Wilkerson who supports and encourages her research despite the personal battle she’s enduring.
“I think that oftentimes in life, especially as a Black woman, multitasking is what we do,” Nash-Betts says.
“You got the baby on the hip, you standing at the stove, you got the phone up to your shoulder. I mean, there’s so many things that we do at one time. So the fact that she was going through all of the things and still moving forward in greatness and wanting to share this story is just a testament to her own personal strength.”
Press play below for the full interview, and be sure to see Origin in theaters starting Friday, Jan. 19.