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 The Galveston Giant: The Jack Johnson Story
Suggested by kamsismith
The Galveston Giant is a six-episode miniseries that brings to life the incredible, untold story of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight champion of the world. Set against the backdrop of the racially charged early 20th century, this series is not just about boxing—it’s about defiance, resilience, and a man who refused to stay down. Visually, the series captures the grit and glamour of the era, from the raucous fight arenas to the jazz-filled clubs where Johnson flaunted his success. Each fight scene is a cinematic masterpiece, showing not just the physicality but the stakes—every punch thrown a metaphor for Johnson’s battle against oppression. Jack Johnson’s story is as relevant today as it was a century ago. His legacy transcends sports, serving as a powerful reminder of what it means to stand tall in the face of adversity. The Galveston Giant isn’t just a biopic—it’s a tribute to a trailblazer whose fight is still being fought.
