Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay is a well-established figure in the film industry, having won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award. She founded her independent distribution company ARRAY in 2011, aimed at amplifying films made by or about Black people and women filmmakers. DuVernay has an extensive list of notable films and television series to her credit, including "Middle of Nowhere," "Selma," "13th," "A Wrinkle in Time," "Queen Sugar," and "When They See Us". Her work on "Selma" earned her the distinction of becoming the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and the film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

As the first Black woman to win the U.S. directing award in the U.S. dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival, DuVernay has consistently broken barriers in her field. Her film "13th" was recognized with an Academy Award nomination, and she made history by becoming the first African-American woman to direct a film with a budget of over $100 million with "A Wrinkle in Time". Additionally, she has ventured into the realm of television with the OWN drama series "Queen Sugar" and the Netflix drama limited series "When They See Us" and "Colin in Black & White". In recognition of her significant contributions to her field, DuVernay was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2017 and was elected to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences board of governors in 2020.

In 2023, DuVernay directed the biographical film "Origin" based on Isabel Wilkerson's book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents". Her accolades include being named to Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders, receiving the Smithsonian Magazine's American Ingenuity Award for Visual Arts, and being inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2025, she received the Billie Jean King Champions of Equality Award.