Ava DuVernay Wasn’t Invited To Oscars Party So ‘Origin’ Calls Out Distributor On Social Media

The distributor behind Ava DuVernay's "Origin" was called out for not inviting the director and other filmmakers to an Oscars party.

The distributor behind Ava DuVernay’s Origin is being called out for not inviting the director and other filmmakers to an Oscars party.

Neon, the film production and distribution company behind Origin, hosted a star-studded Oscars party at the Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunday to celebrate its Academy Award win for Anatomy of a Fall, which won best original screenplay and was nominated for best picture, director, actress, and editing, Variety reports. While many were in attendance, DuVernay and Origin producer Paul Garnes attended the Vanity Fair party instead.

By Monday, a tweet from Origin‘s since-deleted Twitter account called out Neon’s founders, CEO Tom Quinn and Tim League, for the apparent snub.

“Is it odd that the filmmakers of Neon’s current film in theaters weren’t invited to this Neon celebration? Nope. Standard operating procedure for [founder Tom] Quinn and team. That’s how Neon rolls. More on this later,” the tweet read.

Origin is DuVernay’s adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 nonfiction book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which compares racism in the United States to Nazi Germany and the Indian caste system. While the film received critical acclaim, it failed to receive widespread attention or generate any award nominations.

Neon picked up the film for distribution before its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September. While an awards-qualifying run was expected, it failed to materialize following the film’s January release.

The since-deleted Twitter account for Origin, which wasn’t run by Neon, in recent weeks had begun reposting tweets that accused the distributor of “fumbling” and “botching” the film’s release and awards potential. Other tweets questioned Neon’s lack of promotion for the film and that of Michael Mann’s Ferrari, which was released in December but also failed to attract Oscar buzz.

One tweet reposted a screenshot of a ShowBiz 411 article that claimed “Neon Pictures has already snuffed out Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ and Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari.’ What happened to this company? They certainly put all their eggs in the ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Basket. And that one has not even made $5 million after 19 weeks!”

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While Neon has remained silent on the deleted Twitter account, on Tuesday the company shared a highlight video celebrating Origin star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for giving “one of the year’s most stunning performances.” The post also promotes Origin in theaters and digital release.