Ava DuVernay on the 'Dark Void' She Felt After Father's Death and How That Influenced Origin (Exclusive)

Ava DuVernay's new film Origin comes from a very powerful, personal place.

Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson's 2020 novel Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, the film, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, depicts Wilkerson's personal journey to write the book, a work that investigates the root cause of racism and bigotry on a global scale.

"It's a set of ideas that are presented very much as a philosophy and social theory," DuVernay, who wrote and directed Origin, tells PEOPLE. "What I did when I was writing it was try to create an original piece that took into account Isabel Wilkerson's ideas but created a story with characters and emotion."'

DuVernay, 51, whose biopic Selma was nominated for Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards, admits that getting a movie made about a writer and her academic work isn't the easiest thing to do Hollywood. "Are studios clamoring to put a film out with someone who's not in a cape? Not necessarily," she says.

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But, she adds, she found a "superhero" in the character of Isabel Wilkerson, "who in the midst of great loss, grief and tragedy, was able to overcome and go on a worldwide quest to uncover the secrets of history so that we can move forward as people."

When it comes to overcoming grief, DuVerney knows a lot about that, and she poured that knowledge into Origin.

"There's a point in the film where Isabel loses people who are close to her. I created a sequence where a bit of magic comes into the movie in an unexpected way and you see the way Isabel feels when she's grieving," says DuVernay. "The way I designed that was through my own experience of grief."

In 2016, while DuVernay was beginning production on her film A Wrinkle In Time, she lost her stepfather Murray Maye, who she was extremely close to. The loss gutted her.

"I felt like I was in a dark void. I felt like I couldn't find my way out and I remember feeling that if leaves fell on me and just covered me and no one knew I was here, that would be okay because he wasn't here. That was part of my journey through grief that I shared in the film, which was quite personal."

Though DuVernay had an uphill battle making the independent film and getting it out to the world, it's received rave reviews from critics and audiences, including a nine minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival where it originally debuted.

"We believed in the film, others believed in it and the response that we've gotten has been incredible," she says. "Ben Affleck just did a Q&A for our film in the midst of his own film Air that he's pushing. But he had such an affection for what we did that he came out."

Another champion of the film has been Ben & Jerry's. Last year they partnered with DuVernay for their "Lights, Caramel, Action!" ice cream flavor, inspired by the director. "The proceeds go to Array Alliance, which is our nonprofit all about the way that storytelling can change the world."

Now the brand has signed on to help DuVernay get the word out about how younger viewers can experience her latest film. "I said, 'Look, I want young people to see this film for free." says DuVernay. "So I came up with this thing called Seat 16, like Sweet 16, where for $16 you would pay for a kid's movie ticket and a year subscription for them to Masterclass. We want to propel this whole idea of education that's in the film."

As DuVernay settles into awards season, she says more than parties and trophies, she's excited for what Origin can bring to the world.

"The film says everything that I want to say about this time," she says when asked about current international conflicts and tensions. "This film can be a place where we can hold hands a bit and connect around emotions as opposed to all of the things that feel like they're dividing us," she says. "That's our hope with Origin."

Origin hits theaters Jan. 19th.