Ten years ago, Ava DuVernay released what I think was her best film, the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, about the prison industrial complex and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery except as punishment for criminals. Now DuVernay is back with Netflix again for 14th, which will explore the Equal Protection and Citizenship Clauses of the 14th Amendment, establishing birthright citizenship. The timing couldn’t be better, as the current occupant of the White House continually undermines and threatens to eliminate birthright citizenship to any group his racist ass doesn’t like.
Deadline reports 14th will hit Netflix later this year, but there is no firm date. If we’re lucky, there will also be a theatrical rollout, although it’s likely to be brief and limited.
In a statement, DuVernay recognized the importance of the moment in time that 14th is arriving in…
“If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted. This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back. The film asks what kind of country is being written beneath our feet now… while we’re busy believing the stories we’ve all been told.”
Hopefully, 14th will get better treatment than DuVernay’s most recent film, 2023’s Origin, which should’ve been a Best Picture contender but barely got promoted by a clueless NEON. DuVernay and Netflix have always gotten along well, and have worked together on Colin in Black & White, and Emmy-winning When They See Us.
