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 Rising in Stillness: The Maya Angelou Story
Suggested by kamsismith
"Rising in Stillness: The Maya Angelou Story" is an extraordinary biopic that chronicles the life of one of the most influential and inspiring figures of the 20th century. Maya Angelou, born in 1928 as Marguerite Annie Johnson, overcame a difficult childhood marked by trauma and racial discrimination to become a celebrated poet, storyteller, and civil rights activist. This powerful film takes us on a journey through Maya's life as she discovers her love for literature and the written word, and navigates the challenges of racism, poverty, and personal trauma. Her experiences as a nightclub singer, dancer, and civil rights activist intersect with her burgeoning career as a writer, leading her to write the groundbreaking autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." As Maya's literary career soars, the movie captures her pivotal friendships with luminaries like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., showcasing her integral role in the civil rights movement. The film portrays Maya's unyielding determination, her ability to transform pain into poetry, and her unwavering commitment to social justice. "Rising in Stillness: The Maya Angelou Story" is a poignant and compelling tribute to a remarkable woman who inspired generations with her words and her deeds. This film is a must-see for anyone who seeks to be inspired and empowered by the story of a true American icon.
