“This is a beautiful piece of art that I had no idea was going to resonate so deeply with me,”; Regina King declared at last night’s overflowing tastemaker screening of Ava DuVernay‘s Origin. “It’s a film about connectivity,”; the Oscar winner added to the heavy hitter crowd. “I believe this is a film that will be studied in Anthropology classes for years and years to come.”;

“Stunning, thank you,”; King even more bluntly said of Origin to When They See Us vets DuVernay and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and wide applause from influential onlookers.

In a rare public appearance, the acclaimed actor and director took center stage with DuVernay and Ellis-Taylor Thursday to praise and delve into the film based on Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson‘s 2020 bestseller Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents. The screening at West Hollywood’s London hotel was just the latest in a multi-prong effort DuVernay and her ARRAY team have instigated to raise the Venice debuting Origin’s profile in the awards conversation the past couple of months – efforts that have featured screenings with Ben Affleck and Sean Penn, among others.