Ava DuVernay delivered an emotional Keynote speech at SXSW on Saturday, March 14, that has been posted on YouTube in full.

Selma Director Ava DuVernay Talks About Intention At SXSW

DuVernay, the Selma director who made history as the first African American woman nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, took the stage in Austin for one hour, which included a 20-minute Q&A session. The director, who became somewhat of an icon in movements to diversify Hollywood after she was woefully snubbed for a Best Director Oscar nomination, focused on self-discovery and how to work and communicate with those around us. “What I want to talk about, is about the intention of our attention…it’s so big for everyone, especially for artists like us,” DuVernay began.

DuVernay unpacked what she meant by “intention” and “attention,” encouraging people to recognize how their intention, or desire, affects what they do in their lives. DuVernay cautioned aspiring artists against focusing their intention on material goals, like releasing her first narrative, I Will Follow, on her own, or getting her second feature, Middle of Nowhere, into Sundance. “I wasn’t making great strides as a human being and as an artist,” DuVernay explained.

DuVernay told the packed audience that they shouldn’t look to measure themselves or their art based on outside reactions or reception, and that their desire, or intention, shouldn’t be just about gaining things for yourself: “If your dream only includes you, it’s too small.”

DuVernay then turned her attention to her greatest achievement yet: Selma. “This is when I started to set aside that ego for something larger, and a realm of beauty opened up in ways I can only struggle here to share with you,” DuVernay said, holding back her emotion.

Her intention making Selma was simple: “serve the story.” Over the course of her speech, DuVernay went on to recap the highlights of her “f—king most awesome year,” including the Oscars and the awards and Selma’s success, and concluded that she realizes now that her intention had produced something bigger than she could have imagined.

“There are dreams out there bigger than you even know how to dream, so don’t limit the dream with the small stuff. You have to open up and make your intention be beyond yourself,” DuVernay said.

Ava DuVernay Calls Out Hollywood Studios

DuVernay’s speech was mostly positive and uplifting, but she did take an opportunity to call out Hollywood studios for their continued refusal to produce films about people of color. When asked why she thinks it took 50 years to bring Martin Luther King Jr.’s Selma march to the big screen, DuVernay replied, “Obviously the studios aren’t lining up to make films about black protagonists. Or about freedom and dignity as it pertains to black people and people of color being the drivers of their lives.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.