--- description: The director and star of the most provocative film of the year speak out title: Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo on 'Selma' and Ferguson image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b5a8bd5ae79db86/698778be55a859899da8522d/ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo-selma.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo on _Selma_ and Ferguson by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/) and [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/) Jan 8, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  On the march: Director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo, photographed in New York City. On the march: Director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo, photographed in New York City.Peter Hapak for TIME by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/) and [Diane Tsai](/author/diane-tsai/) Jan 8, 2015 12:00 PM CUT In the new issue of TIME, director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo discuss their Golden Globe-nominated movie _Selma_—a look back at the voting-rights marches of 1965 that manages to feel utterly contemporary. Its relevance comes in large part from the film’s refusal to treat its main character, Martin Luther King Jr., as an icon. In Oyelowo’s hands, the character becomes a frustrated, struggling, but ultimately triumphant leader, one who would not necessarily be out of place on the streets of Ferguson, Mo. Perhaps it helps that Oyelowo, who’s become a favorite for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, never learned about King in school: The actor playing one of the 20th century’s greatest Americans is, in fact, British. In this clip from TIME’s interview with DuVernay and Oyelowo, the pair discuss the resonance of _Selma_, as well as what may be the most important aspect of the film—the speech that was left out. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3656065/selma-ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3656065/selma-ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo/"},"headline":"Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo on Selma and Ferguson","datePublished":"2015-01-08T12:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:40:45.505Z","description":"The director and star of the most provocative film of the year speak out","url":"https://time.com/3656065/selma-ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo/","keywords":["movies","Ferguson topic","selma","ava duvernay"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b5a8bd5ae79db86/698778be55a859899da8522d/ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo-selma.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Diane Tsai","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b5a8bd5ae79db86/698778be55a859899da8522d/ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo-selma.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ava-DuVernay-David-Oyelowo-Selma","caption":"On the march: Director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo","creditText":"Peter Hapak for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3656065/selma-ava-duvernay-david-oyelowo/","name":"Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo on Selma and Ferguson"}}]}] ```