Netflix dropped the official trailer for director Ava DuVernay's creation of a hard-hitting documentary, "13th." The prison documentary film was also appointed by the New York Film Fest body to open the Sept. 30 event.
Director DuVernay is once again opening the eyes of people to American history as she unfolds real-life happenings through "13th," which she's bringing to Netflix on Oct. 13. The story relates to races in the country and specifically how many people see the current prison system as a form of modern day slavery.
The just-released 13th trailer shows clips from the film of how African-Americans are mistreated behind the cameras of media. The video starts with a strong statement that reads "Locked up in the land of the free." This is followed by more footages of the slave-down-to-criminal journey of most "blacks" in the country.
The plot's indictment of America's prison-industrial gained its right to take the prestigious opening night slot to the 54th New York Film Festival which opens Friday at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
"13th" will be the first-ever nonfiction work to open the New York Film Festival. NYFF director Kent Jones said, "While I was watching 13th, the distinction between documentary and fiction gave way and I felt like I was experiencing something so rare: direct contact between the artist and right now, this very moment. In fact, Ava is actually trying to redefine the terms on which we discuss where we're at, how we got here, and where we're going. 13th is a great film. It's also an act of true patriotism."
The film "13th" is named after the 13th Amendment to the American Constitution, which declares that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Many people are said to have been left to ponder if the crime punishment described in the amendment has always left African Americans in the seat of persecution. Slavery made legal as a form of punishment; this has inspired the story of the film director.
DuVernay is also known for her past masterpiece "Selma," a film which told the story of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
