‘We can all be heroes of our own lives’: Ava DuVernay on telling Colin Kaepernick’s story
Ava DuVernay has some advice for teenagers.
The filmmaker, who made history when she became the first black female director to make a movie nominated for the best picture Oscar with the historical drama Selma, has recently spent plenty of time with young people on sets.
In the last few years, DuVernay has made the big-budget Disney adaptation Wrinkle In Time, as well as When They See Us – a Netflix show based on the real Central Park jogger case which saw a group of young, black men falsely convicted of raping a white woman in New York.
Sports star and activist Colin Kaepernick’s story is being told in Colin In Black And White. All pics: Netflix
Now, she’s turned her attention to the formative years of sports star and activist Colin Kaepernick, who inspired a movement when he refused to stand for the national anthem at an American Football game in 2016 – instead choosing to take the knee, in protest against police brutality and racial injustice.
DuVernay says that making Colin In Black And White has given her a fresh perspective on her own youth.
San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick (right) and Eric Reid (left) take the knee during the US National Anthem at an NFL football game in 2016
“Making [the show] got me thinking about my own teenage years and how the things that I went through really shaped who I am now,” she told Sky News’ Backstage podcast. “You just wish you could tell kids, what you’re going through right now matters, it’s important, pay attention, don’t let go.
“So often they’re told that they’re not important, but those moments when you’re a teenager are the most important, they are so important. They are building who you become and how you respond to challenges and triumphs later in life.”
Director and co-creator Ava DuVernay and Jaden Michael (also below), who plays the young Kaepernick in the series. Pic: Arturo Holmes/ Netflix
DuVernay admits she didn’t set out to make a show about Kaepernick’s younger years; it was in fact the former NFL player who brought the idea to her.
“So for me it was an opportunity to say, okay, we can do this if we can use it as a springboard to talk about much more. And so that’s why in the piece you’ll see I’ve directed him in kind of the gallery of his mind, where we go out, we see memories, we see bits of history, we see bits of cultural context on all of these stories of his childhood, so it’s this beautiful pastiche of forms within the show, which was really exciting as a filmmaker.”
The show is not easy to define, as the dramatised version of Kaepernick’s life story is mixed in with him as a narrator in vision making astute points about race and culture.
DuVernay says it’s far more than the tale of one child.
“It allowed us to take the childhood and expand it and to make sure that it had more context and contrast than this just telling a story of a kid – it’s the kid on his way to being the hero, right? And it basically says that we can all be the heroes of our own lives as long as we really pay attention to each step, because every step matters.”
In order to tell Kaepernick’s story, DuVernay set her sights on casting the perfect people to play his adoptive white parents.
Mary-Louise Parker and Nick Offerman play Kaepernick’s adoptive parents Teresa and Rick
She hired Parks And Recreation actor Nick Offerman and Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker, an actress who could relate to Kaepernick’s mother on a personal level as she too has an adopted black child.
“They were the exact people that I wanted, I’ve been such a huge fan of both of them,” DuVernay said. “Nick Offerman, I think, is just a brilliant thinker, and it was really interesting because in the United States he has a very particular audience of people who feel connected to him, but don’t necessarily know his politics – he’s a very liberal man, he’s very radical in his view of equity and justice, and so I wanted to really speak to folks who are fans of his that need to hear something new.
“And then Mary-Louise is just really close to the subject matter… There was a beautiful connection there for her personally – the mother in the story handles things very differently than Mary-Louise did, but I think it was illuminating for her, and it was beautiful to have an actor who was that close to the subject matter.”
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While DuVernay directed the show, she says it really is Kaepernick’s baby – and that he was involved throughout every step.
“Colin was a part of the whole process, really kind of over my shoulder for most of it and [was] able to say, ‘Oh, that wasn’t quite like that and I would have done this this way’, which we welcomed all the way up to the end.
“So this is truly a collaboration – his story told in a way that is pleasing to me as an artist to be able to put my name on it, but really tells a story that he wanted to tell.”
Colin In Black And White is out on Netflix now. Hear our review in the latest episode of Backstage, the film and TV podcast from Sky News
Coldplay have become the first act in history to headline Glastonbury five times – playing a record-breaking set to a huge, sparkling audience for whom it felt like coming home.
Thousands in the crowd will no doubt have seen them at least once here before, but no matter – they have their detractors, but you cannot argue with the fact Chris Martin’s band can put on a headline performance worthy of Worthy Farm.
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis was among the special guests watching stage-side as they performed to a crowd stretching way back into the night, and they were also joined by stars and musicians including rapper Little Simz on stage.
Theirs was a celebration not just of their own significant achievements, as one of the most successful British bands in recent history, but of Glastonbury festival and the talent it has supported throughout the decades.
Pic: PA
But the biggest surprise came from Hollywood legend Michael J Fox, who appeared on guitar for the rousingly emotional Fix You as the penultimate track. It’s a song and a performance even the hardest hearts could not fail to be moved by.
Backstage, Tom Cruise was among the fans watching as fireworks lit the sky.
Michael J Fox in Back To The Future. Pic: Universal Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
Michael J Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan in April. Pic: Reuters
Having handed out their traditional Coldplay LED wristbands before the set was under way, this was a gorgeous light show and epic sing-along of audience participation as the band performed hits starting with Yellow, where it all began, and continued through their extensive back-catalogue.
“I look around and I just see amazing, wonderful people from all over the place and that’s what makes Glastonbury the greatest city on Earth,” Martin told the crowd, in a set featuring songs including Higher Power, Clocks, Viva La Vida, The Scientist and My Universe, which the band recorded with K-pop boy band BTS, with lyrics sung in both English and Korean.
Pic: PA
Earlier in the day, Kasabian had been worst-kept secret of the festival with their surprise set, which led the Woodsies area to be closed off as the crowd grew in anticipation.
And at the Other Stage, The Streets’ Mike Skinner entertained fans with a crowd-surfing set – with Friday night headliner Dua Lipa spotted in the crowd, making good on her promise to enjoy the festival for the full weekend as a punter, as well as one of its biggest stars.
But Saturday night belonged to Coldplay. This was their first Pyramid Stage headline appearance since 2016 and their fifth in total, meaning they now overtake The Cure, who have headlined four times.
Pic: PA
When the band was announced by festival organisers earlier this year, the news was met with the same criticism the band have faced for years: the music is dull, the choice of headliner uninspired, jokes about Martin turning up everywhere here, etc etc.
Similar will no doubt have been tweeted out during their set. The answer is simple, though: those who don’t like them, don’t have to watch them.
Read more:
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
There’s plenty else going on at Glastonbury to keep people entertained, whether you’re here soaking it all up in person, or following on TV at home.
The size of the Coldplay crowd says it all – they put on an epic show, and this is why they were chosen to headline Glastonbury once again.
Entertainment
Glastonbury: Controversial Irish-language rappers draw ‘headline-worthy’ crowd against the odds
In a morning timeslot when most respectable Glastonbury-goers would usually be in bed, Irish-language rappers Kneecap drew what stage organisers described as a headline-worthy crowd to the area.
The trio have built a name for themselves with a balance of socially conscious lyrics and satire but have really come to the fore in recent months after taking legal action over a UK government decision to block funding they had been granted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Often described as controversial, there is no doubt they are unafraid to say what they think – but argue they are simply speaking up for the deprived areas of Northern Ireland, in a language which is “often ignored”.
Kneecap fans during the Electric Picnic Festival in 2022. File pic: PA
Plus, there is a lot of tongue firmly in cheek here.
Three friends from Belfast, Kneecap are Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a former teacher who still wears a balaclava initially put in place to disguise himself from his students).
One of their most famous tracks, Get Your Brits Out, has been criticised for being anti-British – but the trio say this is the biggest misconception about the band. And clearly, as it blasts out from a tent in the English countryside, it is loved by the Glastonbury crowd.
Kneecap fans at one of their concerts in 2022. File pic: PA
“This is a thing that people love to spin, like we’re some anti-British band,” says Mo Chara, speaking to Sky News following their successful set. “We have English family. We have loads of good friends who call themselves British. It’s the British government we don’t like.”
They come from a “serious” area of the world where there has been “drama, a lot of violence”, he says.
“I think we’re the first generation… because we came after the ceasefire or just before it, around that time – ceasefire babies, as people like to call us – […] we’re able to joke about these things that were once traumatising for people in our community.
“But every side of the community can take a joke and we don’t give people enough credit, that people know how to have a laugh.”
“I think being offended is subjective,” says Móglaí Bap. “We’re having a good time, a bit of craic. There’s a lot of fun with it and all these jokes, humour, it’s all in context, and you can take it out of context and get offended. But I think genuinely, we meet people from all walks of life and they enjoy it.”
Read more:
Glastonbury’s greatest secret sets of all time
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Unsurprisingly, the trio have locked horns with quite a few politicians.
At the minute, they are embroiled in a legal battle with the British government over the blocking of £15,000 in funding from the Music Export Growth Scheme, which aims to help UK music groups market themselves abroad.
It’s a “slippery slope” and sets a “bad precedent”, says Móglaí Bap, to only give funding to artists that “align with them… that doesn’t make any sense”.
They are all taxpayers, he adds, and therefore have “every right” to funding that is available to British artists.
A government spokesperson says they are unable to comment due to this being an election period, but the Department for Business and Trade’s decision at the time was that Kneecap’s Republican views made them ineligible.
Rich Peppiatt, Michael Fassbender and Kneecap attend the UK premiere of Kneecap, the opening film of the Sundance London Film Festival. Pic: PA
While they await the outcome of the legal case, the rappers are busy performing following the release of their second album, Fine Art, earlier this month, and are also looking forward to their big-screen debut.
The band members play themselves in a biopic about their rise to prominence, set in post-Troubles Belfast, also starring Irish actor Michael Fassbender. The film has been shown at festivals including Tribeca in New York, and the band say the reaction has been “crazy”.
Which all means it looks like the fanbase will expand even more when the film is released in the summer.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
So while some politicians may fail to see the funny side of Kneecap, there are plenty of young people in Belfast, Glastonbury and beyond who clearly enjoy their irreverence.
Dua Lipa has set the bar high for this year’s Glastonbury headliners, performing a slick set of hits to an enormous crowd at the festival’s famous Pyramid Stage.
The 28-year-old star told fans she had manifested the moment, but watching her command the stage – hit after hit played, voice soaring, dance moves effortless – it seems her talent was always going to bring her here.
Starting with Training Season, from her latest album Radical Optimism, Lipa kept the energy levels high throughout for tracks including Be The One, Levitating, Hallucinate, One Kiss, Physical, New Rules and Don’t Start Now.
As is Glastonbury tradition, fireworks lit the sky, during and after the set, while several costume changes also added to the sense of occasion – which the singer described as “the maddest night of my life”.
Pic: AP
Telling the crowd about manifesting the experience, she also hinted she would be staying on at the festival to enjoy the rest of the weekend (although probably not in a tent, I’m guessing).
“I have written this moment down. I’ve wished for it, I’ve dreamt, I’ve worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I’ll get to do it and I can’t believe I’m here,” she said.
“You know when I wrote it down, I was very specific, I said I really wanted to headline the Pyramid stage on a Friday night because then I knew I could party for the next two days in the best place on Earth.
“I’m so grateful, little me would just be beside herself right now.”
Read more: Full line-up for Glastonbury 2024 – with space for surprises
Pic: PA
Lipa’s performance included Cold Heart, her Sir Elton John collaboration, which saw her greeting delighted fans at the front of the crowd, who had no doubt been there for hours beforehand to save the spot.
She followed another Glastonbury tradition by bringing out a surprise guest – Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, to perform The Less I Know The Better from his band’s 2015 album, Currents – and teased Barbie’s Dance The Night during one of her several costume changes.
The star also showed awareness of the festival audience, with 90s rave imagery on screens and confetti cannons blasting rainbows.
It’s something some big acts can get wrong – to go down in Glastonbury headlining history, it needs to be more than just an extra tour show.
Pic: PA
At times, however, the set was so slick, it felt more geared to the TV audience than to the crowd – a couple of songs saw Lipa performing to the camera, back to the audience, for good chunks of time – but when the choreography is this good, it’s captivating to watch wherever you are. It’s a small complaint.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis had said beforehand that Lipa was “born” to headline.
By the time the star had closed the set with Houdini, she had proved her absolutely right.
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
If Lipa is indeed staying on to enjoy the weekend, she’ll get to see for herself the huge array of brilliant acts on offer.
But as headline sets go, hers will be a hard act to beat – a masterclass from a world-class, proper pop star.
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