The OWN drama “Queen Sugar” made its mark on TV thanks to creator Ava DuVernay’s decision to only hire women to direct the show, now in its seventh and final season. Variety spoke to all 42 directors (including DuVernay), who emphasized how her daring mandate changed the trajectory not only of their careers — with 39 of them getting their first episodic credit — but also of their lives.
“Talk about an empowered idea!” exclaims executive producer Oprah Winfrey about DuVernay’s revolutionary vision. “Talk about out of the box!”
Working on “Queen Sugar” had practical benefits: Many of the directors secured entry into the DGA, received health insurance and found representation for the first time. But the greatest gain may have been their newfound sense of confidence in their talents. That was a hard-won victory in an industry that has made it so hard, for so long, for women. Collectively, they refer to the changes brought about, thanks to the “Queen Sugar” initiative, as “the Ava Effect.”
Here are their stories.
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Ava DuVernay
Image Credit: Adam Burrell “First Things First” (series premiere); “Evergreen” (Season 1, Ep. 2); “For They Existed“ (Season 7, Ep. 13)
How do you feel about having brought these women directors together over the show’s 88-episode run? When I look at the list, I have relationships with all of them: Some I didn’t know before; I just followed their work. Some were close friends of mine. But this is something we all did together. Everyone picked this ball up and carried it down the field and got us to the end. I feel like we really won.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“When They See Us,” “Cherish the Day,” “Colin in Black & White,” “Naomi” and “DMZ.” -
Neema Barnette
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Thy Will Be Done” (Season 1, Ep. 3); “In No Uncertain Terms” (Season 1, Ep. 7)
How has “Queen Sugar” changed Hollywood? I call Ava a “diamond finder,” because she finds them and polishes them. And it’s not over after “Queen Sugar” — she helps them get agents and makes sure that they’re on their way.
Ava doesn’t always get the credit she deserves. Black women are pushed to the back, and Ava had the grace to reach out to people like me, Julie Dash and Ayoka Chenzira, pioneers in the business for over 30 years, and bring us back up. She revitalized my entire career. Since “Queen Sugar,” I’ve done 29 shows.
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Shaz Bennett
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “A Little Lower Than Angels” (Season 3, Ep. 5); “Tossing in the Meadows” (Season 6, Ep. 9); “And You Would Be One of Them” (Season 6, Ep. 10); “With a King Of” (Season 7, Ep. 5); “Soothing Electric Vibration” (Season 7, Ep. 6)
What did you make of Oprah and Ava’s decision to only hire women directors? What we really needed was someone to stand up and say, “This person’s great,” and that’s what Ava’s done for all of us — given us a stamp and a foot in the door.
I do feel like it affects how the show works. There’s something about this opportunity and the challenge that Ava gives us when we step into the role, which is “Use your voice. Make art.”
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Billions.” -
Garrett Bradley
Image Credit: A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images “Live in the All Along” (Season 2, Ep. 12)
How did you feel about Ava’s initial call? It was an acknowledgment from somebody who I deeply ad- mire and respect on an artistic and social level — somebody who was a role model. To be seen by Ava was hugely validating. And having an opportunity to get in the door in a space that is historically very difficult for somebody like me was incredibly meaningful. And New Orleans has been my home for 12 years, so to be able to contribute to something that was very much in alignment with my own value system, in a culture that I’m deeply invested in, was incredible.
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Kat Candler
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Where With All” (Season 1, Ep. 8); “Next to Nothing” (Season 1, Ep. 9); “After the Winter” (Season 2, Ep. 1); “I Know My Soul” (Season 2, Ep. 7); “Dream Variations” (Season 2, Ep. 16); “The Horizon Leans Forward” (Season 3, Ep. 12); “From on the Pulse of Morning” (Season 3, Ep. 13); “And When Great Souls Die” (Season 7, Ep. 1); “After a Period, Peace Blooms” (Season 7, Ep. 2)
How has “Queen Sugar” changed Hollywood? There was work that had to be done that no one was willing to do in finding those artists, directors and storytellers. We’ve all been out there trying really hard to knock these doors down, but no one was opening them. You can’t deny how many of us are now working nonstop. And yet we were always there.
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Patricia Cardoso
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Of Their Sojourn Here” (Season 3, Ep. 2); “Our Senses, Restored” (Season 7, Ep. 7); “Never to Be the Same” (Season 7, Ep. 8)
What was it like when Ava called? I was at IKEA, and I cried because I knew it was going to change my life.
What was going on in your career before “Queen Sugar”? After I directed “Real Women Have Curves,” I was almost hired to direct seven big features. Then I realized I was the token. The producers would tell my agents, “She had the most interesting take, but she doesn’t have experience.” That was heartbreaking.
How are you paying it forward? I hired only women as my heads of department for my Amazon pilot, “Harlan Coben’s Shelter.” When you’re in a position to hire, be part of the change.
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Shari L. Carpenter
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Moving So Easily Through That Common Depth” (Season 6, Ep. 5)
What did you think when you learned of Ava’s hiring mandate? We’re constantly — over and over — asking people to let us do things that we’re more than capable of doing. But Oprah and Ava were elevating us. They were like, “We know you can do it, and we are going to give you the opportunity.” It felt like a relief — like finally somebody’s seeing us.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
The TV movie “Single Black Female.” I’d never had an opportunity to direct two major things in the same year. -
Ayoka Chenzira
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Here Beside the River” (Season 3, Ep. 10); “I Am” (Season 4, Ep. 13)
Life before “Queen Sugar”? I’d lived in this independent film bubble. My friends said, “You’re going to hate television because you’re so used to doing everything yourself — you raise the money, you write the stories — it’s not that world.” So I showed up on the set and thought I’d died and gone to heaven. “You mean everything is here and I just have to direct? I don’t have to go into somebody’s closet to look for wardrobe?”
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Kindred,” “A League of Their Own,” “Trinkets,” “Dynasty.” And I’m off to Toronto to do this sci-fi piece called “Beacon 23.” -
Christina Choe
Image Credit: Getty Images “Delicate and Strangely Made” (Season 3, Ep. 6)
The Ava Effect? I had done those diversity fellowships where you shadow directors, and I’d realized, “They’re never gonna hire me from this.” You’re put in a position where you’re literally supposed to be in- visible, so how is that supposed to prove that you can do it? As an Asian female filmmaker, I was in the .01% of directors in episodic TV, so what Ava and “Queen Sugar” were doing was significant. Now that I’ve done several shows, I realize how special an environment that was. It’s very familial — cozy and supportive and warm. I wish every set was like that. There’s a level of respect for everyone.
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Julie Dash
“Yet Do I Marvel” (Season 2, Ep. 9); “Drums at Dusk” (Season 2, Ep. 10)
Were you pursuing TV before “Queen Sugar” came along? I’d done four or five films, but I could never get past the executive producers and the showrunners to get an episode of anything. Nothing. And then here Ava comes, starts a new show, and she gives me two episodes off the bat — just like that. Prior to “Queen Sugar,” all women had difficulty getting episodic work. It was a closed shop for Black and white women. Then Ava did this thing, and within six months, she’d changed the entire face of the episodic world. It’s something Hollywood never tried to do before.
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DeMane Davis
Image Credit: Flo Ngala “Line of Our Elders” (Season 2, Ep. 6); “Copper Sun” (Season 2, Ep. 15); “A Rock, a River, a Tree” (Season 3, Ep. 1); “Study War No More” (Season 3, Ep. 7); “Come, Clad in Peace” (Season 3, Ep. 8); “We Can Be” (Season 7, Ep. 11); “Be and Be Better” (Season 7, Ep. 12)
Getting the call? She slipped into my Twitter DMs while I was working freelance as a copywriter at an advertising agency and said, “Hey sis, you’re a real Renaissance woman. Do you have any scripts?”
How did “Queen Sugar” change your career? It gave me a career. You can’t fail, because everyone on Ava’s set knows these are directors who know how to direct; they just don’t know this medium.
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Lacey Duke
“Where My Body Stops or Begins” (Season 4, Ep. 3)
The Ava Effect? It’s the little things. Now I have health insurance. I know people don’t really talk about that, but it’s a big deal to be able to be a part of the DGA. And I wouldn’t have had that if it wasn’t for Ava. Being able to tell stories in that medium opened up an entire world for me: I’m directing more TV; I have features that I’m developing; I have an agent. I’ll always be very thankful to Ava for her immeasurable contribution to my life.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Insecure” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” -
Cheryl Dunye
“To Usward” (Season 2, Ep. 2); “Fruit of the Flower” (Season 2, Ep. 11); “Pleasure Is Black” (Season 4, Ep. 1); “Oh Mamere” (Season 4, Ep. 10)
Getting the call? I went to one of the screenings of “13th.” Since I had only been making features independently, I didn’t have any managers and agents. I go over to Ava and say, “Tell me about ‘Queen Sugar.’” And she says, “I’d love for you to come and direct. I’ve gotta run — tell your agent and managers to reach out to mine, and we’ll make it happen.” Then she leaves, and I looked around like, “Are there any agents and managers in the room?”
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C. Fitz
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Stare at the Same Fires” (Season 4, Ep. 9)
Life before “Queen Sugar”? I was a producer in commercials and directed on the side. Women were not encouraged to direct — you just had to do it on your own. Most of the women from “Queen Sugar” made their own features, shorts, documentaries with their own money.
Getting the call? I cried. I knew it would change my life forever, and there would be so many opportunities — representation, for one; I’d never had an agent, a manager. Never had a break.
How has “Queen Sugar” changed Hollywood? I think this sisterhood creates that. Not only did Ava give us an opportunity, she created this wheel that is going to pay it forward.
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Lisa France
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Mid-March 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 2); “June 1, 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 7); “All Those Brothers and Sisters” (Season 6, Ep. 8)
The Ava Effect? What Ava created can’t be stopped. We all help each other; we recommend each other; we get together. Production made a book for her, and I wrote that she had a big piece of land, and she farmed it. Then she divided it up into parcels and taught us how to farm our little piece. And she introduced us to the other women farmers and said, “You should help each other cultivate this land.” And we’re going to pass it on to people we mentor, to keep cultivating this land that she gave us.
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Cierra Glaudé
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Early-May 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 4); “May 27, 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 6); “June 3, 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 8); “And Dream With Them Deeply” (Season 6, Ep. 2)
Getting the call? I was first-team P.A. on the first and second season, then a writer’s P.A. on the third. Right before the fifth season — after the release of my short, “Spilt Milk” — Ava was asking me what I was doing next. Unbeknownst to me, she was about to grant me my episode. It’s wild going from being low man on the totem pole to ringleader.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Twenties,” “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” “P-Valley” and “Power Book IV: Force.” -
Maria Govan
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “No Haven in My Shadow” (Season 3, Ep. 4)
Ava’s hiring mandate? Ava really and truly took such a huge risk. Not all of us are willing to do that — even recommend someone for something because our reputation is on the line. And Ava took that to a whole other level. Her name and reputation was entirely on the line, and she held her ground. She’s a force. I mean Oprah is Oprah, and the fact that these two forces came together, the paradigm has shifted. More than just having directed TV, we’re going to look back on this as a movement that changed everything.
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Aurora Guerrero
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “What Do I Care for Morning” (Season 2, Ep. 3); “Whisper to Us” (Season 7, Ep. 9); “They Existed” (Season 7, Ep. 10)
The Ava Effect? She proved that it’s bullshit: People aren’t looking for us, and they’re not doing the work to search for us. Because we’re there, and she demonstrated that. Folks don’t have an excuse — all they have to do is look at the “Queen Sugar” roster, if they’re looking for badass women-of-color directors. She vetted them, for free.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Greenleaf ” and then “13 Reasons Why” came directly through my producing director, Kat Candler. We didn’t know each other prior to “Queen Sugar,” and we became friends. She went on to “Greenleaf ” and pushed my name in there. -
Tanya Hamilton
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris “As Promised” (Season 1, Ep. 6)
What was your first impression of the “Queen Sugar” set? It was my first show. It’s just a very new world, new language, new everything, and I was nervous with this feeling of failure back here, you know, breathing down my neck. So I was shocked at how lovely it was, because I just didn’t know what to expect. And then midway through, I remember thinking, “This is not normal.” Like, it can’t be this nice. It can’t be. Like, everybody’s so supportive, and it feels so much like we’re all invested in each other’s success.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“The Vampire Diaries,” “Greenleaf.” -
Marie Jamora
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “You Would Come Back Different” (Season 6, Ep. 3)
The Ava Effect? Ava does not dismiss people. I think that’s why she’s found such a wealth of talent. Nobody had the balls to do it, and she continues to do it, even with her ARRAY Crew: open up spaces where women of color are not welcome. If Hollywood can do the same thing — look at the whole package and give the work a chance — I think it would change. You know how in Hollywood there’s always a fear of failure? And once you fail, you’ve lost your shot? She created this environment where you feel like she’s there for you: “You’re not going to fail. You’re safe. We’re here for you.”
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Deborah Kampmeier
“All the Borders” (Season 4, Ep. 8)
How did “Queen Sugar” change Hollywood? It was a very closed network. People hired who they knew, and it was really all men. I remember trying to bang on those doors myself and being told, “You haven’t done TV; we can’t hire you.” She took that leap of faith. And because she did it, there’s a new paradigm. I made four independent features before I got the call — my first was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, and my second was nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize — and I could not get an agent. Now I have an agent, I have a manager. I’m making a living.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Cherish the Day,” “The Gilded Age.” -
Maryam Keshavarz
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “My Soul’s High Song” (Season 2, Ep. 4)
Paying it forward? I think the best thing we can do is create these strong communities. The thing is, we exist, so for people to say there aren’t enough female directors — that’s absurd. We’re artists, and everything we do is not possible. So it’s all about being aspirational and putting into effect our politics and our philosophy. Obviously, representation is huge. Showing family dynamics. Showing what the world considers to be minorities and putting them into the mainstream space and making their stories commercial is really important.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Viper Club,” “The Persian Version” and “All Rise” -
So Yong Kim
Image Credit: WireImage “The Darker Sooner” (Season 1, Ep. 4)
The Ava Effect? Ava was definitely in the forefront of saying, “Hey, look what potential is out there. Let’s do what hasn’t been done before.” She’s a renegade. What Ava did for me and so many other women directors is give us the opportunity to prove ourselves. Because many people who are in the TV industry think that if you give a first time director a chance, they’ll fail because it’s so complicated. But some- times you just need that one person to say, “I believe in you.” That faith plays a huge role in raising the potential of everyone.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Transparent,” “The Good Fight,” “American Crime.” -
Tina Mabry
Image Credit: FilmMagic “Far Too Long” (Season 1, Ep. 12); “Give Us This Day” (Season 1, Ep. 13)
Paying it forward? When we get the opportunity to do the hiring, we have to do the same. We can’t stop what Ava started. That’s how an industry can be reshaped so that it can look like a microcosm of the world and not just a good ol’ boys club that’s only baseball caps and cargo shorts (even though I wear both). It’s good to have some locs under that hat.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Dear White People.” Ava changed my life in so many ways. I wouldn’t be sitting here in prep on this film [“The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat”] without that phone call. -
Victoria Mahoney
“By Any Chance” (Season 1, Ep. 5)
What was your experience trying to break into TV? I was actively, vocally pursuing directing for more than a decade, and shadowing TV directors on and off for that entire stretch. My reality was no different than most outliers: No one was interested in hiring us. Not a sob story, just relaying data. But on “Queen Sugar,” the unilateral level of support, trust, freedom and inspiration was rare, and still is.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Survivor’s Remorse.” But the job that directly resulted from “Queen Sugar” was “Grey’s Anatomy.” Ms. Debbie Allen went out of her way to hire me for an episode, my first network gig. -
Carmen Marrón
“I No Longer Imagine” (Season 4, Ep. 2); “If You Could Enter Their Dreaming” (Season 6, Ep. 1)
Were you pursuing TV before “Queen Sugar” came along? I’m a Latina director, and I didn’t have agents, I didn’t have any rights, I didn’t have any connections. It was 10 years of struggling. I honestly was at a point where I was really thinking of walking away. I moved to Austin because I was like, “I’m gonna go and teach, because this industry, they just don’t get my voice.” But Ava pulled me right back in, and it’s like my life started all over again. It was a reset.
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Amanda Marsalis
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Caroling Dusk” (Season 2, Ep. 5); “Freedom’s Plow” (Season 2, Ep. 8)
The Ava (and Oprah) Effect? I met Oprah at the Season 2 premiere party. I got to have a drink with her, and I said, “You changed my life.” Being Oprah, she’s like, “How did I change your life?” And I was like, “I have health insurance because of you.” I got my DGA health card and cried uncontrollably. The idea that I have a safety net that al- lows me to actually be an artist gives me goose bumps.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Shooter” because I was very much like, “I want action.” And miracle of all miracles, the “Ozark” Season 2 finale was my fourth episode of television ever. -
Stacey Muhammad
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “I’m Sorry” (Season 4, Ep. 11); “Slowly and Always Irregularly” (Season 7, Ep. 3); “Spaces Fill” (Season 7, Ep. 4)
Life before “Queen Sugar”? I was an indie filmmaker for 15 years. I was in a constant state of protest, like, “I don’t care about being in spaces that aren’t welcoming and safe for me.” I didn’t think I fit into Hollywood; the directors that I loved functioned outside of the industry space. But Ava said, “Yes, we can be outside of that space, but there is safe space for us here. We don’t have to compromise and go without the things that we rightfully deserve.” Because of what she did, I have a space in this industry.
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Nijla Mu’min
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “The Tree and Stone Were One” (Season 3, Ep. 9)
The Ava Effect? It has really made television a more inclusive space for women, especially women of color. When I was in film school, I’d hear people talking about how hard it was to get a TV directing job — it was almost impossible. People who had done critically acclaimed feature films were having trouble booking, which didn’t make sense: If you’ve directed a feature, you’ve weathered the storm of knowing how to handle a set. Once Ava came in with the logic of “These women are ready. They’ve done the work to get here,” that had a ripple effect.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Swagger.” -
Bola Ogun
“By the Spit” (Season 2, Ep. 6)
How did “Queen Sugar” change Hollywood? The Ava Effect has quite literally changed the game for women directors. There used to be a claim a lot of us would hear — “We hired a woman, but it didn’t work out” — and suddenly that show didn’t hire women at all. Now I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of diverse rosters that look more like the world we live in.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Legacies,” “God Friended Me” and “Lucifer.” The avalanche that “Queen Sugar” started for me was a crazy thing that never happens! Now I’m in post-production on the Season 3 finale of “The Witcher.” -
Tchaiko Omawale
Image Credit: Getty Images “Of Several Centuries” (Season 4, Ep. 7)
The Ava Effect? It’s the first professional situation where it’s set up for my success, institutionally. And I think there’s nothing more revolutionary than setting a Black woman up for success. That might seem like a small thing, but as a Black woman, from your girlhood you’re learning to be 200% better and learning to bend and mold yourself in preparation for people attacking you. When I walked in, I didn’t have to spend energy on racism or sexism or proving my worth; I literally got to just direct. That was the most phenomenal thing.
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Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
“Or Maybe Just Stay There” (Season 6, Ep. 6)
Getting the call? In 2016, when the show first aired, I basically wrote Ava a love letter to the show, saying, “If opportunity arises, I would love to be considered.” She wrote me right back, saying she was really touched. So last spring, I wake up to an email from Ava saying, “A few years ago, you raised your hand showing interest — might you be available?” I checked about six times to verify that it really was her email address and wrote back, “Both hands up, and feet, and dancing. Yes, please!” By the end of that week, I had the offer. Three weeks later, I was on a plane to New Orleans.
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Pratibha Parmar
“Here” (Season 4, Ep. 12)
Getting the call? It’s one of the best Twitter DMs I have ever received.
How has “Queen Sugar” changed Hollywood? It has created a seismic change. It’s the first time ever that the industry has been forced to see that there are these scores of women directors, and it’s not because of equal opportunity; we can get on set and direct high-level productions day in and day out. The industry has this notion — “Oh, you’re the diversity hire” — and that perception has had to shift. Ava’s really stirred and redefined the foundations, the infrastructure, of the industry.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Law & Order: SVU.” -
Numa Perrier
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Skin Transparent” (Season 4, Ep. 4)
The Ava Effect? Career is all about momentum, so to be able to get that bump of momentum in the TV space is just remarkable: Work gets work. What I loved was that there was no bullshit in terms of the interview process or finding reasons to say no. It’s just “You are already a talent. Come join the sisterhood.”
How has the “Queen Sugar” sisterhood supported you? We lean on each other to share all the little tricks and hacks that we find to circumvent the obstacles. That’s where the juice really is. Because you need peer-to-peer mentorship — the people that you can really talk about something so granular as “What does your shot list look like?”
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Rachel Raimist
“Your Passages Have Been Paid” (Season 3, Ep. 11)
The Ava Effect? Hollywood is a business of relationships. People hire people with proven track records. How do you build that for people who don’t get that first shot? What Ava showed us is that you can create conditions to help people rise to the occasion. She gave us a look book, and then she answered technical questions. What women directors have never had was a TV boot camp. We know how to talk to actors. We know how to tell stories. We know where to put the camera. But what we didn’t learn how to do was how to get reps and how to talk game, and that’s how TV really works.
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Salli Richardson-Whitfield
“So Far” (Season 1, Ep. 10); “All Good” (Season 1, Ep. 11)
Getting the call? I was the lead in Ava’s first feature [2010’s “I Will Follow”]. During that time, Ava said to me, “I think you’re a director and you don’t know it.” Those words really spoke to me. I was on a show called “Eureka” at the time, and I talked to them, and they said, “We’ll give you a shot.” Many years later, my husband, Dondré Whitfield, is on “Queen Sugar.” So I go to visit him, and Ava’s standing there. She goes, “Salli, are you still wanting to direct? I can’t do my episode.” I was like, “Shut up.” Then she calls me and says, “Actually, I’m going to need you to do two episodes.”
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Heidi Saman
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “Face Speckled” (Season 4, Ep. 5)
Getting the call? I just felt like, “Can you do this? This is crazy!” You just feel like you’re in an industry where nobody is looking for what you have to offer. The community that was built as a result of this show, it’s been pretty incredible. I can’t believe how many fascinating women I’ve met.
Paying it forward? I talk to a lot of up-and-coming directors who ask me to read scripts, and former students who don’t know what steps to take. I talk to them as a cheerleader, because the road to being an artist is filled with self-doubt.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Two Sentence Horror Stories.” -
Liesl Tommy
Image Credit: FilmMagic “Heritage” (Season 2, Ep. 13)
Getting the call? Ava had seen my production “Eclipsed” on Broadway. She called me three or four times over the Christmas holidays. After an insane amount of phone tag, she offered me an episode. I was just so profoundly touched that, without me having to jump through any hoops, she would see the value of my work on the stage and believe that it could transfer to film. I said, “I’m going to come for about a month to shadow,” but she said, “Come for a few days.” I said, “Ava, I’d rather kill myself than let you down,” and she got choked up and was like, “You’re not gonna let me down. This is not a risk.
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Stephanie Turner
Image Credit: MICHAEL ROWE “To a Different Day” (Season 6, Ep. 4)
The Ava Effect? Look at all the women who are working. And the fact that executive producers on all these shows are saying, “We have to have an industry standard of 50% female directors.” Would that have happened if she hadn’t set that tone with “Queen Sugar”?
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Naomi.” It was another great Ava surprise. People in the industry were telling me, “You’re not going to get a first-season show.” And then, out of the blue, Ava messaged me and said, “I want to offer you an episode on my new show.” I feel very grateful to have met someone who was willing to believe in me. -
Christina Alexandra Voros
Image Credit: WireImage “On These I Stand” (Season 2, Ep. 14)
Life before “Queen Sugar”? I met Ava at a film festival in Mumbai. She reached out about a year later. To say it happened at a time when I needed a break would be an understatement. I had left my agency. The phone wasn’t ringing. My son had just been in a car accident. It was one of those points where you ask yourself if being an artist is going to be the right choice for you and your family. At the moment that I was doubting the most, she put that opportunity in front of me, and it changed the course of my life as an artist, as a director, as a parent.
After “Queen Sugar” came …?
“Filthy Rich,” “Yellowstone,” “1883” and “Big Sky.” -
Keisha Rae Witherspoon
“They Would Bloom and Welcome You” (Season 6, Ep. 7)
The Ava Effect? On a practical level, she designed the experience to include a support system, so that whatever holes I might have had in my armor were mended by industry vets who Ava had on set. It’s a very admirable system that came with a lot of forethought and grace. Her intention is to create a safe space. A major part of this is to build out a women’s network, which is so important since it’s been a boys’ club for so long. That has set in motion a robust and beautiful future for the film and TV industry.
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Lauren Wolkstein
Image Credit: Getty Images for OWN “Your Distant Destiny” (Season 3, Ep. 3); “Late-February 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 1); “Late-April 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 3); “May 19, 2020” (Season 5, Ep. 5); “In Summer Time to Simply Be” (Season 5, Ep. 9); “Onward” (Season 5, Ep. 10)
Getting the call? I was on my way to Sundance. I remember screaming in the car. I had been a fan of the show and of what Ava was doing in empowering female directors. If you haven’t directed TV before, it’s really hard for networks to want to hire you. And Ava was the first one who was like, “Actually, it’s not hard.”
Ava saw what was wrong and corrected it.