The writer and director talks unorthodox storytelling, racism at Hollywood studios, and working outside the mainstream.

Haile Gerima left Hollywood long ago.

Part of a group of 1970s UCLA film students who came to be known as the LA Rebellion for their refusal to adhere to the mainstream film industry’s storytelling rules, he recognized quickly that Hollywood studios weren’t interested in funding or backing his films, which tell stories about Black lives from the perspective of Black protagonists. And so, in 1975, Gerima decided to pick up and move to Washington, DC, to work on his own terms and in his own location.

He’s been there ever since. But now, a new generation of filmmakers is picking up where Gerima and his peers left off. Those who can’t get their stories financed or distributed by studios are turning to their own communities and business acumen to bring their artistic visions to the screen. In keeping with that tradition, filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s distribution company, Array Releasing, has digitally restored and re-released Gerima’s 1982 film, Ashes and Embers. The movie tells the story of a Black Vietnam veteran who has dreams of becoming an actor, and the challenges — both personal and professional — that he faces.

Ashes and Embers won the Grand Prix Award at the Lisbon International Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Film Critics Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, among others. The film is now streaming on Netflix.