Ava DuVernay has officially launched ARRAY Crew, a personnel database created to highlight women, people of color, and other underrepresented below-the-line crew members in Hollywood.
Changing the narrative is one of DuVernay’s goals as a creative, and her latest movement in that mission is the launch of ARRAY Crew. ARRAY Crew is an online platform managed by an all-women executive team, and it consists of more than 3,000 below-the-line members, according to a press release obtained by Baller Alert. As a part of WarnerMedia’s promise to promote inclusive hiring, the mass media company helped found ARRAY Crew alongside DuVernay.
ARRAY Crew will be supported by several major studios and streaming services, including Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, FOX Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, ViacomCBS, and Walt Disney Studios. Production companies A24, Bad Robot, John Wells Productions, and Shondaland will also be working alongside ARRAY Crew as partners. There are already more than 70 productions currently using the database, according to the press release.
The database includes a wide array of creatives working in the film and television industry. Hiring managers and line producers will be able to choose candidates who possess a variety of skills and talents, including sound technicians, costume designers, VFX designers, grips, lighting directors, and more.
To create an ARRAY Crew profile, a film or television professional must be a least 18 years old and have to have one verifiable production credit. Once a professional’s profile is created, they will be able to upload their photos, videos, industry credits, and any other content that would help them obtain a position in their specific field. Adding content will come at no cost to the professional. While ARRAY Crew is still growing, U.S.-based profiles and productions are now accessible in seven cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. ARRAY Crew plans to go international by 2022.
DuVernay says she wants ARRAY Crew to help put an end to the longtime hiring disparities in Hollywood eventually. “We’ve ideated, incubated, and excited the ideas of ARRAY Crew over two years with one mission in mind: to help productions hire qualified crew candidates too often underrepresented, overlooked, and unknown. Our goal is simply to amplify more professionals in an effort to build inclusive film and television crews,” said DuVernay. “The overwhelming support of the studios and streamers has bolstered our belief that our industry can become a more balanced place to work for more kinds and cultures of people, resulting in stronger and more dynamic content for viewers and moviegoers.”
ARRAY Crew is an extension of DuVernay’s change non-profit ARRAY Alliance, an organization that works toward highlighting and providing opportunities to women and people of color filmmakers and creatives to promote more diversity in Hollywood. To learn more, visit ARRAYCrew.com.
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