Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde, author of Caste Matters and The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections, attended the premiere of Origin, directed by Ava DuVernay, at the Venice Film Festival. Ava DuVernay, known for her critically-acclaimed film Selma, became the first African-American to compete for the Golden Lion title in Italy for her latest film Origin. The film received a nine-minute standing ovation and hoots of appreciation on its world premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Origin is inspired by Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson and her research into systemic injustice explored in her book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents.

Origin jumps from personal tragedies in Wilkerson’s own life, to recreations of Nazi Germany, Jim Crow segregation in the southern United States and the indignities suffered by the Dalits in India, Reuters reported.