THE DAY I ARRIVE outside the Los Angeles compound of husband-and-wife producing team David and Jessica Oyelowo, the Santa Anas-known as the devil winds for their heat and fury-have been lashing the city, felling trees and power lines and leaving plenty of disaster grist for the local-news mill in their wake. But once I am inside the gate, where first a boisterous Goldendoodle named Chappelle and then the view of a verdant hillside dotted with olive trees greet me, the meteorological chaos beyond the walls seems to disappear.
Two Mediterranean-style homes sit on this generous plot in the San Fernando Valley, and David is hunkered down in the one closest to the street, which houses the couple's production company, Yoruba Saxon, its name a nod to their respective cultural heritages. He's typing on a laptop at a table in the living area, working under deadline, he tells me, after he gets up to shake my hand. He's warm but telegraphs a certain gravitas. Jessica enters the light-filled room singing “Hellooo,” dressed casually in a sweatshirt and leggings, her arm in a sling. We're here to discuss their latest project, the documentary which chronicles the seven years David spent preparing to play Martin Luther King Jr. in and marks Jessica's directorial debut. 's release has been timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Ava DuVernay's civil-rights drama, a landmark film widely
