Ava Marie DuVernayย (/หdjuหvษrหneษช/;ย born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of twoย Primetime Emmy Awards, twoย NAACP Image Awards, aย BAFTA Film Award, and aย BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee for anย Academy Awardย andย a Golden Globe. In 2011, she founded her independent distribution companyย ARRAY. After making her directorial debut withย I Will Followย (2010), DuVernay won the directing award in the U.S. dramatic competition at theย 2012 Sundance Film Festivalย for her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere,ย becoming the first black woman to win the award.
For her work onย Selmaย (2014), a biopic aboutย Martin Luther King Jr., DuVernay became the first African-American woman to be nominated for aย Golden Globe Award for Best Director; the film went on to be nominated for theย Academy Award for Best Picture. Her other film credits include theย Academy Award-nominatedย Netflixย documentaryย 13thย (2016) and the Disney fantasy filmย A Wrinkle in Timeย (2018), the latter making her the first African-American woman to direct a film with a $100 million budget. In 2023, she directed the biographical filmย Originย based onย Isabel Wilkerson's bookย Caste: The Origins of Our Discontentsย (2020).
DuVernay's television credits include theย OWNย drama seriesย Queen Sugarย (2016) and twoย Netflix drama limited series:ย When They See Usย (2019), based on the 1989ย Central Park jogger case, andย Colin in Black & Whiteย (2021), based on the teenage years ofย NFLย playerย Colin Kaepernick. In 2017, DuVernay was included on the annualย Timeย 100ย list of the most influential people in the world.ย In 2020, she was elected to theย Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciencesย board of governors as part of the directors branch.
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