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
Writer
for Writer in Blood & Redemption: The Lloyd Avery Story
Suggested by kamsismith
Lloyd Avery II was more than just the villain who gunned down Ricky in Boyz n the Hood—he was a rising star, filled with promise, charm, and talent. The film opens with his breakthrough moment in John Singleton's iconic film, where his portrayal of a street gang member became a symbol of the stark realities of inner-city violence. As his career begins to take off, the line between his on-screen persona and real life starts to blur. Lloyd finds himself drawn into the same world he once acted out, becoming entangled in gang life and criminal activity. The story explores the inner turmoil of a man at the crossroads of two paths—one leading to Hollywood stardom, the other to self-destruction. Amidst this downward spiral, the film reveals Avery's attempts at redemption—his conversion to Christianity and moments of reflection while incarcerated—offering a raw and poignant look at his search for purpose. The climax follows the tragic and mysterious events surrounding his death in prison at the hands of his cellmate, leaving the audience with lingering questions about fate, choice, and the cost of a life lived on the edge.
