AVA DuVERNAY

Ava DuVernay is an American filmmaker, director, producer, and screenwriter who has become one of the most influential voices in contemporary cinema.

Born in Long Beach, California, in 1972, Ava's initial interest was to become a broadcast journalist and producer. She received a prestigious internship from a major news outlet in the early 1990s.

Her job was to stake out a juror's house during the infamous O.J. Simpson trial. Her assignment was to observe the comings and goings, and she recalls the network also "inviting" her to go through their garbage to seek any evidence.

This would be her first and last foray into the world of broadcast journalism. She felt uncomfortable with the position, feeling that broadcast news was getting a little too tabloid and clickbait-driven.

Afterward, she began working as a publicist and eventually founded a public relations agency.

Ava's career in filmmaking began in her 30s with her directorial debut, "This Is the Life," a documentary exploring the Los Angeles alternative hip-hop scene.

Her breakthrough came with "Middle of Nowhere" in 2012, which earned her the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, making her the first Black woman to win this award.

She gained widespread recognition with "Selma," a historical drama about Martin Luther King Jr.'s voting rights campaign, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Ava continued to make history in 2016 with "13th," her powerful documentary examining the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in America, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

In 2018 she directed Disney's "A Wrinkle in Time," becoming the first Black woman to direct a live-action film with a production budget over $100 million.

In television, she created and executive produced the critically acclaimed series "Queen Sugar" and the limited series "When They See Us," a story of the Central Park Five case in New York, which earned multiple Emmy nominations.

Her film "Origin" was based on Isabel Wilkerson's book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," an anthropological thesis describing the expression of the difference of class and race throughout cultures and how respect, honor, attention, resources, and privileges are granted on the basis of one's perceived rank or standing in that hierarchy.

Ava has since founded the nonprofit film collective "Array" because she believes that the stories we tell each other shape the world, and she aims to amplify the work of people of color and women filmmakers to create stories from their perspectives.
"Origin" competed at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, making DuVernay the first African-American woman director to compete at the Venice Biennale in its 100-year history.

In March 2024, she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture for “Origin." In 2024, she also received the Casting Society's Lynn Stalmaster Award for Career Achievement, recognizing her commitment to inclusive and progressive casting throughout her career. In 2024, DuVernay was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and in 2025, she received the U.S. Tennis Association's Billie Jean King Champions of Equality Award.

DuVernay's cultural influence has been celebrated by the Smithsonian in 2025 with its Great Americans Medal, as well as with a commissioned likeness by the National Portrait Gallery, a sold-out Barbie doll, and a custom Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor.

She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, representing the directors branch, and holds a vice presidency role with the Directors Guild of America.

In 2025, DuVernay served as president of the jury at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico.