Ava DuVernay
DuVernay began her career with the documentary This Is the Life and her first features I Will Follow and Middle of Nowhere, the latter of which gained her the U.S. Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival. After this, DuVernay directed Selma, a $20 million film about Martin Luther King’s 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery. The film was a success, making $66.8 million and gaining a Best Picture nomination. Her sensitive focus on racial issues is apparent in all of her early works and is a big part of her identity as a filmmaker, as is evidenced in her follow-up to Selma, the documentary 13th. As one of the premiere voices of both African-Americans and women in film, DuVernay signing on to direct A Wrinkle in Time for Disney was a landmark. She became the first black woman to direct a live-action film with the budget over $100 million and her goals of representing diversity are apparent in her casting of Storm Reid in the lead role.
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