LOS ANGELES — “Origin” is based on journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s non-fiction book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” It examines racism in America as an aspect of a caste system, based on perceived racial hierarchies, inclusion and exclusion. The movie explores the impact of caste, using stories involving slavery, Nazis, even Trayvon Martin to illustrate its points.
“I think there’s something about the film that instigates a word of mouth,” said Duvernay. “After you see it, most people have recommended it to someone.”
DuVernay, who adapted the book for the screen, acknowledges her labor of love, which was made with money raised from nonprofit organizations, had some box office challenges. So she is thrilled to see “Origin” is finding a home and a new audience on Hulu.
“Oh, most places in the country never saw ‘Origin’ in theaters. So, this is the opportunity to be able to share a story that means so much to people in all kinds of places beyond the major cities in the comfort of their home. ‘Origin’ on Hulu feels like the right fit but also all these months later, you know, I just feel like filmmakers kind of give their film one shot at the box office and then kind of move on. And for me, these films are evergreen,” said Duvernay. ” I mean, they continue to live and breathe and grow and evolve. And so I’m always tracking my films and watching my films and trying to find new ways for them to find new audiences.”
And with “Origin,” there is something else new. DuVernay and her team took their work and their research and put it into an online learning companion to give you a deeper understanding of the complicated subject matter you experience in the film.
“And you can find these incredible learning companions that are not dry. They’ve got video. They’ve got behind-the-scenes footage of us making the movie. They’re got all the details of every question you might have. It’s in there!” DuVernay said. “It’s important that people value films that are made by filmmakers that you may not know, smaller films, independent films. And even when I was a publicist, I would always come to you with films that were kind of off the beaten path, like ‘Origin,’ films that may not fit into a perfect box of a studio movie and you would always give them some light.”
DuVernay knew “Origin” should have a learning companion for those who wanted to know more, so they worked on that at the same time they were making the movie.
“Origin” will be on Hulu beginning on Monday, June 10.
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