Age: 53
female
Ava Marie DuVernay (/ˌdjuːvərˈneɪ/; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. In 2011, she founded her independent distribution company ARRAY. After making her directorial debut with I Will Follow (2010), DuVernay won the directing award in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere, becoming the first black woman to win the award. For her work on Selma (2014), a biopic about Martin Luther King Jr., DuVernay became the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director; the film went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Her other film credits include the Academy Award-nominated Netflix documentary 13th (2016) and the Disney fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time (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 film Origin based on Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020). DuVernay's television credits include the OWN drama series Queen Sugar (2016) and two Netflix drama limited series: When They See Us (2019), based on the 1989 Central Park jogger case, and Colin in Black & White (2021), based on the teenage years of NFL player Colin Kaepernick. In 2017, DuVernay was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2020, she was elected to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences board of governors as part of the directors branch. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ava DuVernay, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Ava DuVernay
Director
for Director in A Life Unscripted: The Adrienne Shelly Story
Suggested by kamsismith
“A Life Unscripted” explores the multifaceted life of Adrienne Shelly, a rising star in the independent film scene of the 1990s. From her early days in New York City, navigating the complexities of the entertainment industry, to her triumphs in film and theater, the series delves into the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field. Each episode captures a pivotal moment in her life, including her breakout role in “The Unbelievable Truth,” her critically acclaimed film “Waitress,” and the powerful themes of empowerment and resilience she wove into her storytelling. The series also highlights her relationships with notable figures in the industry, her struggles with self-doubt, and her unwavering determination to carve out a space for herself as a creator. The narrative takes a dark turn as it addresses the tragic circumstances of her untimely death, weaving in the impact it had on her family, friends, and the film community. Through flashbacks and emotional recollections, we see the legacy Adrienne left behind—how her voice continues to inspire future generations of filmmakers and women in the arts.
