Selma director, Ava DuVernay, hopes film 'changes the conversation'

It is like Ava DuVernay was always meant to direct Selma. 

The film is about a key moment in Martin Luther King Jr.'s career, when the civil rights icon led thousands of non-violent demonstrators from the city of Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. The five-day march was pivotal in establishing the Voting Rights Act.

​DuVernay not only connected with the story, but actually lived in Montgomery as a teenager, where her father is from.

"The man I love most in the whole world who raised me and taught me how to be who I am is from the place that this film was about," DuVernay told CBC. "How can you not just sink your teeth into it?"

Other possible directors had dropped out, and British actor David Oyelowo was already cast in the lead role. He recommended DuVernay for the job.

"Not only do I think the right people have now come together to make [Selma], but I think the time at which the film is coming out is also undeniably divine," said Oyelowo, referring to the tense state of race relations.

Selma is already getting some Oscar buzz, positioning DuVernay as a possible contender for a best director nomination. She would become the first black woman in history to earn a nod in this category.

"My real, real hope, beyond any kind of statue, is that this film does something. In the hearts of people, in the minds of people, changes the conversation," said DuVernay, who received the new generation prize at Sunday's L.A. Film Critics Awards.

It has been reported that Selma was snubbed by the SAG Awards when nominations were announced today, but DuVernay confirmed that the film was simply not ready in time for submission and therefore was not in the running.

Selma's strong cast

The film features a strong cast with Tim Roth as Governor George Wallace, Tom Wilkinson as U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Oprah Winfrey as freedom fighter Annie Lee Cooper.

Brad Pitt and Winfrey also produced.

Selma opens in theatres on Jan. 9, 2015.

Watch more of our interview with actor David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay in the video above.