Ava DuVernay Recreated Nazi Book Burnings in Germany for ‘Origin’: ‘Tens of Thousands of Books Were Burned’ | Video

When Ava DuVernay decided to tackle Nazi book burnings for her upcoming film “Origin,” the filmmaker didn’t want to re-create the event in a Hollywood backlot — she chose to film in the exact location in Germany where the actual events took place in 1933.

“There’s a square called Bebelplatz where the books were actually — there were tens of thousands of books — that were burned,” DuVernay said during a spotlight conversation for TheWrap’s Power Women Summit on Tuesday, which was moderated by editor in chief and TheWrap CEO Sharon Waxman. “Anything that was talking about freedom, basically injustice, all of that stuff was burned.”