Ava DuVernay’s ’14th’ Documentary Sets Netflix Release Date

A decade after ’13th,’ DuVernay turns to the 14th Amendment and the ongoing fights over citizenship, due process, equal protection and who gets to belong.

ByAlex Gonzalez
August 20, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Ava DuVernay’s new documentary 14th explores the 14th Amendment and who “gets counted,” following her acclaimed film 13th about racial inequality in the U.S. justice system.
• 14th premieres as the closing night film at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 9, opens in select U.S. and U.K. theaters Nov. 27, and hits Netflix globally on Dec. 4.
• The film features conversations with figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Anna Paulina Luna, Jeff Flake, Alex Padilla, Stacey Abrams, and Sherrilyn Ifill, with Netflix calling it an ambitious, thought‑provoking follow‑up to 13th.

Ava DuVernay is once again bringing her thoughtful filmmaking to the screen.

On Thursday, August 20, Varietyreported that DuVernay’s much-anticipated documentary 14thwill open in select US and UK theaters on Friday, Nov. 27 before receiving a global release on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 4.

14thfollows DuVernay’s critically acclaimed documentary 13th, which examined racial inequality within the American justice system. Diving into the 14th constitutional amendment, 14thlooks into due process. “Written in the wreckage of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was meant to close the door on the hierarchy of human worth. Instead, it has become a permanent argument,” reads a tagline for the movie.

14th was announced in July and is produced by ARRAY, DuVernay’s independent media collective.

“If 13thasked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted,” said Duvernay in a statement. “This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back. The film asks what kind of country is being written beneath our feet now… while we’re busy believing the stories we’ve all been told.”

Viewers can look forward to conversations with several notable political figures, including Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) and Anna Paulina Luna (R), former Sen. Jeff Flake (R) and current Sen. Alex Padilla (D), as well as Sherrilyn Ifill, Robert Chang and Stacey Abrams.

“Ava’s remarkable ability to bring history into conversation with the present made her last documentary, the seminal BAFTA-winning and Academy Award-nominated 13th, a cultural touchstone of the last quarter century,” said Adam Del Deo, Vice President of Documentary Film and Series at Netflix, in a statement. “With 14th, she delivers another ambitious and thought-provoking documentary with the depth, artistry, and humanity that have come to define her work. We’re proud to continue our creative partnership with Ava and bring this powerful film to audiences around the world.”

The documentary will receive its first screening at the New York Film Festival as the closing night film on Friday, Oct. 9 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.