Who are Clarence and Jacqueline Avant, to whom the film is dedicated and their personal connection to one of the leaders of Netflix?

Tyler Perry adapts with Messengers of war the true story of Battalion 6888 during World War II. If the director has slipped in archive images of these courageous women, the end of the film pays tribute to the couple Clarence and Jacqueline Avant, two deceased personalities, who maintain a strong personal link with Netflix.

Among many Christmas films, perfect for the end of the year, a feature-length action film that is a hit with Carry-Onand before the release of the long-awaited season 2 of Squid GameNetflix has decided to offer its subscribers a historical drama. With Messengers of wardirector Tyler Perry adapts for the screen a true story, still too little known, that of Battalion 6888. Shortly before the end of the Second World War, this corps of black female soldiers was sent to Europe to resolve the blockage millions of letters from soldiers and their families. A moving film, carried by Kerry Washington among others, and which pays tribute to the courage of these women, whose names unfortunately have not been remembered by History. With this film, Tyler Perry puts them back in the spotlight, slipping in archive photos at the end. But you will also notice at the end of Messengers of war a tribute to two personalities, Clarence and Jacqueline Avant.

Messengers of war : Clarence and Jacqueline Avant are the parents of producer Nicole Avant and the in-laws of Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix

The Netflix film is in fact dedicated to their memory. But who are they? Clarence Avant was a mogul in the American music industry, a sector that nicknamed him the “black godfather”. Agent of Louis Armstrong in particular, he had launched numerous labels and in particular the record company Venture Records. He died in August 2023 at the age of 92, greeted by many personalities, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. His wife, Jacqueline Avant, was a great philanthropist. She was shot dead by a robber at their home in December 2021. The couple had been married for 54 years. Jacqueline and Clarence Avant were the parents of a daughter, Nicole. The latter was United States ambassador to Barbados during the Obama administration. Producer, she is the wife of Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix.

Nicole Avant produced a Netflix documentary dedicated to her father Clarence, The Black Godfather

Nicole Avant is the producer of Messengers of War, it was she who proposed this project to Tyler Perry. This is why the film pays homage to his parents. This was already the case with the series Queen Charlotte, the first episode of which paid tribute to the memory of his mother Jacqueline. Nicole Avant produced a Netflix documentary dedicated to her father, in 2019, entitled The Black Godfather. “My parents, Jacqueline and Clarence Avant, were both forces of nature, always serving good. They helped shape American culture through music, film, education and the arts, she confided in an interview with TV Mag. They have been the cornerstones of my successes, and I am honored to have taken over to continue their legacy as weavers of dreams, transforming the impossible into the possible.”