Ava DuVernay returns to constitutional history with new documentary 14th

A decade after 13^th, Ava DuVernay is returning to constitutional history with 14^th, a new documentary examining the long-running battle over the 14^th Amendment and its meaning in contemporary America. The film will premiere globally on Netflix in December following a limited theatrical release in the UK and US.

Set to make its world premiere as the Closing Night selection of the 64^th New York Film Festival on 9^th October, 14th looks at an amendment written in the aftermath of the Civil War and the disputes that have surrounded it for more than 150 years. DuVernay combines archival research with contemporary political and cultural debate to examine questions of citizenship, equality and belonging.

The documentary features more than 50 interviews with historians, lawyers, scholars, politicians and commentators. Contributors include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Anna Paulina Luna, Jeff Flake, Alex Padilla, Sherrilyn Ifill, Robert Chang, Stacey Abrams, Donald T Critchlow and Hasan Piker, alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Eric Foner and David Blight.

The film also marks DuVernay’s return to the New York Film Festival ten years after 13^th opened the event. Produced through ARRAY, 14^th extends the filmmaker’s interest in American institutions and civil rights, this time focusing on the constitutional amendment that reshaped citizenship and equal protection in the United States.

The editorial unit

14th is released on Netflix on 4^th December 2026.