Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde, author of Caste Matters and The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections, attended the premiere of Origin, directed by Ava DuVernay, at the Venice Film Festival. Ava DuVernay, known for her critically-acclaimed film Selma, became the first African-American to compete for the Golden Lion title in Italy for her latest film Origin. The film received a nine-minute standing ovation and hoots of appreciation on its world premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Origin is inspired by Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson and her research into systemic injustice explored in her book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents.
Origin jumps from personal tragedies in Wilkerson's own life, to recreations of Nazi Germany, Jim Crow segregation in the southern United States and the indignities suffered by the Dalits in India, Reuters reported.
If DuVernay made history by becoming the first Black director to premiere her film at the Venice Film Festival, Yenge also became the first Dalit to attend the premiere in Italy.
Yengde shared photos of him participating in the event with DuVernay on his Twitter account.
Speaking at the film festival, DuVernay, Variety quoted her as saying, “For Black filmmakers, we’re told that people who love films in other parts of the world don’t care about our stories and don’t care about our films. This is something that we are often told: you cannot play in international film festivals, no one will come.”
She added, “People will not come to the press conferences, people won’t come to the P&I screenings. They will not be interested in selling tickets. You might not even get into this festival, don’t apply. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, ‘Don’t apply to Venice, you won’t get in. It won’t happen.’ And this year, something happened that hadn’t happened in eight decades before: an African American woman in competition. So now that’s a door open that I trust and hope the festival will keep open.”