13th

Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary 13TH refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “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.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.

Directed By: Ava DuVernay

Produced By: Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick

Awards: 2017 Emmy: Best Documentary, 2017 Academy Award Nomination: Best Documentary, 2017 BAFTA: Best Documentary, MTV Movie Award: Best Documentary, 2017 NAACP: Outstanding Documentary, 2016 Critics Choice Awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best Political Documentary