*Photo Credit: Mariemaye
Ava DuVernay
Writer, Producer, Director and Distributor of Independent Film
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: Please Inquire
TRAVELS FROM: California
RELATED TOPICS: Actor & Producer, Black Speakers, Celebrity, Civil Rights & Social Justice, Humanitarian & Philanthropy
Ava DuVernay is a writer, producer, director and distributor of independent film. Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, DuVernay was honored with the 2013 John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award and the Tribeca Film Institute 2013 Affinity Award for her second feature film Middle of Nowhere. She directed the feature film Selma, which chronicles the historic 1965 voting rights campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay directed the film from her screenplay, with Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt's Academy Award winning company Plan B serving as producers. 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. She is also board member for both Film Independent and the Sundance Institute.
Ava DuVernay is a writer, producer, director and distributor of independent film.
Winner of four Emmys, the Peabody Award and the BAFTA for Best Documentary, Ava DuVernay's Academy Award nominated "13TH" was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016. Previously, DuVernay directed the award-winning historical drama SELMA, which garnered four Golden Globe nominations and two Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Her current directorial work includes the ratings sensation QUEEN SUGAR and the upcoming Disney fantasy epic, A WRINKLE IN TIME.
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 and commercials, including VENUS VS for ESPN, as well as branded content for Prada, Fashion Fair and Apple. Additionally, she directed 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, she was named one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Greatest World Leaders.
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.
Winner of four Emmys, the Peabody Award and the BAFTA for Best Documentary, Ava DuVernay's Academy Award nominated "13TH" was one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016. Previously, DuVernay directed the award-winning historical drama SELMA, which garnered four Golden Globe nominations and two Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Her current directorial work includes the ratings sensation QUEEN SUGAR and the upcoming Disney fantasy epic, A WRINKLE IN TIME.
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 and commercials, including VENUS VS for ESPN, as well as branded content for Prada, Fashion Fair and Apple. Additionally, she directed 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, she was named one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Greatest World Leaders.
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.
- An Afternoon/Evening with Ava DuVernay
We can help ideate, source and book speakers that aren't on our website, too. Leave an inquiry or call us at