Ava DuVernay announces documentary ‘14th’ exploring constitutional struggles

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is releasing a new documentary titled ‘14th’, which examines the ongoing struggle to define American democracy through the lens of the 14th Amendment. The film follows her previous Academy Award-nominated work, ‘13th’, which focused on the prison industrial complex.

While the project initially centered on birthright citizenship, the two-year production evolved to address broader attacks on the amendment, including the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. DuVernay described the amendment as a “hidden operating system” and noted that the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments effectively created a new constitution layered onto the original.

A special free presentation of the film will be held at the Ford Theater in Los Angeles on October 29, featuring a live conversation with the film's participants. The documentary is scheduled for a worldwide debut on Netflix on December 4.