Best Picture nominee “Selma” screened at the White House on Friday for Barack and Michelle Obama. In an Instagram photo posted on Tuesday, director Ava DuVernay explained what it was like to show the film to the president and first lady.
President Obama’s introduction of SELMA in the presidential screening room, the quality time he and the First Lady took with us before and after, the stories he shared with my editor and cinematographer, the praise she gave our dear cast, the handshake he gave my father, the hug she gave my mother, the laughter, the smiles, the extra time they gave us all long, long, long beyond when we were scheduled to go, the warmth, the respect, it was just beyond exquisite. “I’m proud of you,” she said to me. “We’re proud of you,” he added. I’m proud too — of them, of us, of the film, of this moment in my life.