Ava DuVernay is the first Black woman to direct a film nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. (Selma, 2014). She created the award-winning and critically acclaimed limited series When They See Us, and Colin in Black and White. DuVernay also directed the first theatrical film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time as well as the award-winning dramas and documentaries Middle of Nowhere, I Will Follow, and 13th, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. DuVernay was also the executive producer of the OWN drama series Queen Sugar, which boasted an all-women roster of directors throughout its six-season run. DuVernay also created ARRAY (formerly known as AFFRM), a film distribution company that focuses on work made by filmmakers from marginalized communities.
Films
Origin
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(2023)
The unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how lives today are defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
Queen Sugar
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(2016-2022)
Follows the life of three siblings, one of whom moves from Los Angeles to Louisiana, to claim a shared inheritance from their recently departed father — an 800-acre sugarcane farm. Based on the novel of the same name, this long-running series is notable for its all-women roster of directors.
Colin in Black and White
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(2021)
This limited series based on football player Colin Kaepernick’s early life explores his high-school years and the experiences that led him to become an activist.
When They See Us
Watch TrailerStream on Netflix
(2019)
In this limited series, five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story. Nominated for 16 Emmys, with a win for Jharrel Jerome. Also the winner of a Peabody Award.
A Wrinkle In Time
Watch TrailerStream on Disney+
(2018)
After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend on a cosmic quest to find him.
13th
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(2016)
Referencing the U.S. Constitution’s 13th amendment, this documentary provides an in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Selma
Watch TrailerStream on Fubo / Showtime
(2014)
A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Middle of Nowhere
Watch TrailerStream on Kanopy
(2012)
This film chronicles a woman’s separation from her incarcerated husband and the journey to maintain her marriage and her identity amidst crisis and chaos. Winner of the 2013 Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. DuVernay also won the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Best Director Award.
I Will Follow
Watch TrailerStream on Kanopy
(2010)
Chronicles a day in the life of a grieving woman, and the twelve visitors who help her move forward.
