Ava DuVernay on the Urgency and Artistry of Historical Drama Origin.

Ava DuVernay's film 'Origin' is an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's 2020 book 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,' which explores the connections between caste systems in India, the history of slavery and Jim Crow laws in the U.S., and Nazi Germany. The film focuses on the stories of individuals such as August Landmesser and Irma Eckler, whose love was forbidden by the Nuremberg Laws, and Elizabeth and Allison Davis, Black anthropologists who studied race in the U.S. during the rise of Nazism. DuVernay emphasizes the importance of engaging with themes of caste and human dignity, aiming to provoke thought and activism in the context of contemporary societal issues. The film is set to be released in theaters on January 19. [Extracted from the article]