Black PR Wire Power Profiler on Ava DuVernay

Nominated for the Academy Award and winner of four EMMYs as well as BAFTA and Peabody Awards, Ava DuVernay’s “13th” was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016.  In 2015, DuVernay’s historical drama “Selma,” garnered four Golden Globe nominations and two Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Her current work includes critically-acclaimed drama series QUEEN SUGAR, the upcoming Disney fantasy epic A WRINKLE IN TIME, and a film adaption chronicling the notorious Central Park Five case.

DuVernay previously wrote, produced and directed the dramatic feature, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, which earned her the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Best Director Award. In 2010, she wrote, financed, produced and directed her first narrative feature, I WILL FOLLOW, after making her directorial debut with the cult-classic hip hop documentary, THIS IS THE LIFE. She has directed several network documentaries, including VENUS VS for ESPN, as well as branded content for Prada, Fashion Fair and Apple. Additionally, she recently directed FAMILY FEUD, a music-based short film for rap icon Jay-Z, and AUGUST 28: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PEOPLE, a short film commissioned by Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Prior to filmmaking, DuVernay worked as a marketer and publicist for 14 years. Her award-winning firm provided strategy and execution for more than 120 film and television campaigns for acclaimed directors such as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Mann and Bill Condon. In 2017, DuVernay was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Greatest World Leaders and TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. A graduate of UCLA, DuVernay is the founder of ARRAY, a grassroots distribution and advocacy collective dedicated to the amplification of films by people of color and women which was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. DuVernay sits on the boards of both Sundance Institute and Film Independent.

Source: www.avaduvernay.com