My heart beats inside of this film. I don’t know much else to write here. Except that, ORIGIN is an offering from me to you. It is a cry. A shout. A fist. A deep breath. A hand to hold. I hope it reaches you somehow - in the ways that matter. Love, A.
“It’s hard to be a human being and deeply painful to be conscious.” - Ines Hernandez Avilla
I love this lady. In all her glories and complexities. In all her sacrifice and sensitivities. In all her lightness of being and her wisdom. In all her experiences and her empathy. In all her hugs and prayers. In all ways - and always. I love this lady. Happy Mother’s Day, Momma. You are one of a kind and I’m so blessed you are mine. Love, A.
This Oscar day landed on the tenth anniversary of my father’s passing. That day in 2016 was the worst day of my life. On the same day a decade later, I had one of the best days of my life. I’ve been to many Oscars. They are cool events. But on this day, I took my honey with me and it was… different. Felt like opening a new window in the house. A fresh breeze drifted through. I had so much fun because I know my Pop is smiling on me. He worried about me. That I worked too much. That I wouldn’t make time for other parts of life.
Time. It is a lot of things. But most profoundly for me, it is a healer. My father’s journey onward was once an open wound. Now, it is a scar. Ever present. But it debilitates me less often. It now serves as a reminder of love. In all its forms.
Thanks to the folks around me who helped me prepare and get through the day. A day filled with love. The great @tilanej of @arraynow who is always in my corner in ways beyond explanation. My friends at @louisvuitton who were stellar and treat me with such respect. Thanks to @nicolasghesquiere for the beautiful design and for always seeing me. And to the lovely @katiebof , along with @joeycantu and @joel_jolibeatelier for the perfect fit. The one-woman dynamic duo @indiamhammond who handled both hair and makeup because she’s that talented. And @chozen01_llc for seamless logistics. Finally, thanks to @flavialanini@kelleybakerbrows@amanda_sousla for their expertise and kindness along the way.
Remember that your darkest days are moments. You will make it to the other side. There is light there. 🌞
Can you believe this weekend we’ll be halfway through March? Time is flying. Saw family, friends and fellow artists over the last few weeks who feed me with their energy, ideas, care and kindness. Not a bad way to spend the time. xo
The final Sundance in Park City, Utah happened last week and it was the end of an era for me. Here are some pictures of this year’s pilgrimage and of years past. Simply put, the vision of one man - and the team who worked to realize that vision - changed my life. Gave me a career and shifted my perspective of myself. Before I was a filmmaker, I went to Sundance. To work as a publicist for other filmmakers. All the while, I applied to the labs, to the festival, to everything to do with the Institute. Many rejections. Much learned. When my third film MIDDLE OF NOWHERE was accepted into U.S. Dramatic Competition and won an award, nothing was the same for me. Time was delineated as “before Sundance” and “after Sundance” from then on. Both were beautiful times. But different. One festival can’t make you or break you. But the people who cross your path, the films you watch that become a part of you, the confidence that comes from sharing your work in that way, the energy that’s stirred in those environments… it all becomes a brew that uplifts and inspires. I’m grateful to the festival on the mountain. For all I learned there. All that I felt there. All that it gave me. All that I carry with me. My most precious memory of my many times (fourteen) at Sundance is of my late father coming to the world premiere of MIDDLE with my Mom. He made his famous fajitas for the cast and crew in the condo. He was proud. I could feel it. I feel it even now. Thank you, Sundance Park City. It was an unforgettable blast. xo
PS. Massive thanks to the team at @airbnb for this year’s incredible condo. A far cry from sleeping on a pullout couch in the living room of total strangers like my first Sundance for $40 bucks a night. Appreciate the upgrade!
A few of the many magnificent moments of 2025. The hands I’ve held. The paths I’ve crossed. The places that have welcomed me. As I grow older, what’s expanded my heart most is connection with other passionate humans who share this miracle we call Life… from siblings to strangers. If we really watch, really listen, really stay present, we can feel it all. All of it. A grateful goodbye to this year. A new window awaits. What will we discover? What will we feel? What will we learn? Onward. xo
Been working on something for the last year and a half that I’m passionate about. It’s a joy to write those words and feel that feeling. I don’t take it for granted. Also been listening and learning and leaning on the wisdom of a lot of brave hearts. Filmmakers and fine artists and designers and composers and scholars and actors and it’s been wonderful. New insights, new joys. It’s November 2025. And I’m glad to be here. xo
- On Set
- CFDA Awards Honoring Jerry Lorenzo/FEAR OF GOD
- LACMA Art + Film Gala
- ARRAY 360 with Guillermo Del Toro
- ARRAY 360 with Nia DaCosta and Nina Hoss
- In Conversation at The Huntington Library
- “El Canto de las Manos” Q+A at Disney Concert Hall
- Ebony 100 Celebration
- Aisha Hinds 50th Birthday
- Academy Governors Ball
- Free Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Haiti.
- Abolish ICE.
- Release The Epstein Files.
- Stay Hydrated.
- Read Poems.
- Call Your Loved Ones.
- Count Blessings.
xo
This October, I crossed paths with a dizzying array of artists and advocates while traveling. What a ride! They shared their ideas and energy, their information and opinions with me. So generously. I am full. And grateful. xo
- Vision and Justice Conference | Ford Foundation
- American Academy Induction | Harvard University
- Morelia Film Festival | Morelia, Mexico
- “Left-Handed Girl” Screening | ARRAY Campus
- “Hamilton” w/ Leslie Odom | Richard Rodgers Thtr
- Academy Museum Gala with Louis Vuitton
- Erykah Badu | Hollywood Bowl
Forty eight hours in Paris to celebrate the creativity of @nicolasghesquiere at @museelouvre . Always inspires. Makes me want to go home and write and work harder and create more. Visited my favorite spot @bmkparisbamako for alloco and mafé with that incredible peanut sauce. Thanks to the good folks there. Convos everywhere I went - from the front row to the pharmacy - about the state of the world. It’s on everyone’s minds in some way or another. And the theme I kept hearing is a desire to see justice and dignity for all. Justice and dignity. For all. Speak up however you can. Make it so. xo
On May 2, 1973, freedom fighter Assata Shakur was shot in the back by police officers on the NJ Turnpike while her arms were raised above her head. She was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to life in prison - plus 33 years. Her comrades facilitated her escape in November 1979. She was labeled a terrorist by the FBI with an eventual $2 million bounty put on her by the US government.
She arrived in Cuba in 1984, and was granted asylum. She lived the rest of her days there in exile, where she wrote, studied and taught. And where she inspired conscious, freedom-aspiring people around the world.
Today, upon the announcement of her passing, I celebrate her and lift up her words that are a mantra to many: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Assata Shakur is now an ancestor. May she rise and roar and revel in power and peace.
Today we say goodbye to a great woman, Agnes Gund. I met Aggie through my film 13TH at the New York Film Festival in 2016. She shared that the experience she had watching the film, along with her lifelong study of justice issues, led her to make an extraordinary choice. She took a Roy Lichtenstein painting that had hung on her mantle for more than forty years, sold it and used the proceeds of over $100 million to start the Art for Justice Fund with the Ford Foundation. For five years, that fund supported people and projects working at the intersection of imagination and justice. Along the way, thanks to our mutual brother Darren Walker, I spent time with Aggie and came to see a woman who used her quiet dynamism in propulsive ways that touched so many. Aggie was a patron of artists in a way that was fervent, true and honest. I was blessed that my path crossed her mighty path. May she be blessed on her journey onward. 🤍
72 hours in NYC surrounded by legends and friends and doing things I’ve never done. Legends like Billie Jean King and Venus and Shonda and Robin. Friends like Darren and India and Andre and Bianca, to name a few. Things I’ve never done like experiencing the US Open and Shakespeare in the Park. New York was all dressed up and green and sunny and happy as if to resist the madness coming from the White House. As if to asset some beauty in the ugliness. Even if just for a few hours. I appreciated that very much.
