Blackfilm.com correspondent Ellen J. Wanjiru chats with co-creator, executive producer and director Ava DuVernay about the authenticity behind each episode of Colin in Black & White and what it was like to direct Colin Kaepernick in his coming-of-age story. The six-episode limited series debuts Oct. 29 on Netflix.
Focusing on Kaepernick’s adolescence and early football, basketball and baseball successes in Turlock, CA, Colin in Black & White puts specific emphasis on the influences and circumstances that developed the social and cultural conscience of the young man adopted by a white family. Leaning into the culture warrior that Kaepernick has become, the series spotlights the seeds laid in the early 2000s that flourished in the off-the-field battle of today.
Starring Jaden Michael as Young Colin before reaching the highest levels of American football as an NFL quarterback and becoming a cultural icon and activist; Nick Offerman and Mary-Louise Parker as his well-meaning parents Rick and Teresa; and Colin Kaepernick himself, who appears as the present-day narrator of his own story, guiding viewers through a robust and colorfully presented array of historical and contemporary contextual moments. You don’t know Kaepernick until you know Colin.
Co-created by Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick | Executive produced by Ava DuVernay, Colin Kaepernick, and screenwriter Michael Starrbury, who previously worked with DuVernay on her acclaimed limited series “When They See Us.”
Ava DuVernay directs (Episode 101 and all of the present-day Colin Kaepernick scenes), Sheldon Candis (Episode 102), Robert Townsend (Episodes 103 and 104), Angel Kristi Williams (Episode 105), Kenny Leon (Episode 106).
Ava DuVernay has become a trusted filmmaker and TV producer who people turn to to tell their truths, giving her subjects a platform to share their lives through captivating and inspiring storytelling. In 2017, DuVernay met activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had been propelled into the spotlight after advocating and protesting for social justice issues both on the field and off. The two teamed up for the new Netflix series Colin in Black and White, which tells his origin story through the lens of his formative years, showing how someone rises to greatness and what it takes to give up your dream to stand up for what you believe in. Check out trailer below!
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