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Ava Duvernay astounded by huge spike in viewership of '13th'

A film focusing on the intersection of mass incarceration and American racism is now captivating millions of Netflix viewers.

The streaming service said in the past three weeks, the audience for filmmaker Ava DuVernay's 2016 documentary, "13th," has spiked 4,665% compared with the three weeks prior.

The spike in interest in the subject comes as the U.S. is roiled by anti-racist protests demanding police reform.

"It's a once in a generation moment that we're in."

In an interview with Reuters, DuVernay said she hoped viewers will learn and work for change.

"To have work that speaks directly to the moment that is widely available is astounding to me and you know, I hope that people that might be engaging with this material now will look to work like this outside of these very tense cultural moments."

In recent weeks, streaming networks have highlighted programming by black creators.

Netflix added a Black Lives Matter Collection, while HBO Max featured a slate of shows and movies under the heading “Celebrating Black Voices."

And viewers have been gobbling it up.

“Dear White People,” a Netflix comedy about black Ivy League college students, enjoyed a more than 300% boost in demand in the U.S. over the past 30 days, according to Parrot Analytics.

While DuVernay’s Netflix series “When They See Us,” about five black and hispanic boys falsely accused of a crime, saw demand jump 83% in that time.

While she welcomes the rise in demand - DuVernay says her work was meant to guide America away from crisis.

"Let's not let this be the emergency kit that you pull out when something goes wrong because if we can educate ourselves to each other and be more connected, there may be less emergencies, you know and so I think we should be looking at this material, reading these books, engaging with these films as preventatives, as what you do as part of a society when you value everyone."