Ava DuVernay is the filmmaker behind ‘Selma,’

Ava DuVernay is the filmmaker behind ‘Selma,’ which chronicles Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership in the struggle for voting rights. She is the first African-American female director to receive a Golden Globe nomination.

 Synopsis

Born in 1972 in Long Beach, California, Ava DuVernay worked in film publicity and marketing, and established her own agency, before deciding to become a filmmaker. She helmed hip-hop documentaries and then released two feature films: I Will Follow (2010) and Middle of Nowhere (2012). The holiday season of 2014 saw the release of Selma, which follows a portion of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life during an urgent call for voting rights. With this critically acclaimed work, DuVernay became the first African-American female director to receive a Golden Globe nomination. 

Background and Early Career

Ava DuVernay was born on August 24, 1972, in Long Beach, California. Growing up with an entrepreneurial father who owned a carpeting business, DuVernay had an interest in rhyming and hip-hop and eventually attended UCLA. During the 1990s, she worked in film publicity before starting the DuVernay Agency, which specialized in movie marketing for African-American audiences. 

Directing Debut

While on the set of the 2004 thriller Collateral, starring Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise, DuVernay felt inspired to start making her own films. She initially released shorts like 2006’s Saturday Night Life and the documentaries This Is the Life (2008), which looked at alternative hip-hop artists, and My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth About Women in Hip Hop, which aired on BET in 2010.   

                                                   

That same year, DuVernay made her feature film debut as director and screenwriter with the drama I Will Follow, a poignant drama about a woman who is grieving over the loss of her aunt to cancer. The work put DuVernay on the map, with film critic Roger Ebert calling the outing, “a universal story about universal emotions.”

Sundance Award for 'Middle of Nowhere'

In 2011, DuVernay co-founded the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, a group dedicated to supporting the release and distribution of black indie movies. In 2012, the filmmaker released her second feature Middle of Nowhere. The film, starring Emayatzy Corinealdi, Omari Hardwick, Lorraine Toussaint and David Oyelowo, looked at an ambitious, conflicted woman whose husband is incarcerated. DuVernay won the director’s prize at Sundance, becoming the first black woman to do so.

The following year, DuVernay was called upon to direct an episode of the hit Kerry Washington drama Scandal and also released the ESPN documentary Venus Vs., which followed Venus Williams’ fight for pay equity for female tennis players.

                                             

Making History With 'Selma'

A planned biopic on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the first for the big screen, had eventually ended up with director Lee Daniels, with Oyelowo cast in the lead. But when Daniels chose to helm The Butler instead, the script for the project, written by Paul Webb, was set adrift, until Oyelowo convinced the French production company Pathé to bring DuVernay on board as director. Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt also came on board as producers, and DuVernay rewrote the script, although she didn't receive screenwriter credit due to previous contractual stipulations.








QUOTES
“I didn't make my first little short until I was 32. It was kind of intimidating coming in to it so late—all these whippersnappers fresh out of film school, I couldn't do any of that. But I did start to recognize that being so close to really great filmmakers and watching them direct on set and the experiences that I did have, although different from film school, were still super valuable.”
—Ava DuVernay