Ava DuVernay Makes History
Ava DuVernay has made history as the first African-American woman to direct a film with a budget over $100 million.
The 43-year-old award-winning director is at the helm of Disney’s A Winkle In Time, an adaptation of the 1963 Newbery Medal-winning Madeleine L’Engle fantasy classic novel.
Ava’s dear friend and collaborator, Oprah Winfrey, will star in the film.
Via Women and Hollywood:
DuVernay has worked her way up from directing extremely low-budget films to a studio tentpole. Her feature debut, 2011’s “I Will Follow,” was made for $50,000 and her 2012 follow-up, “Middle Of Nowhere,” had a budget of $200,000. Oscar-nominated biopic “Selma” was a big step up budget-wise: the 2014 film’s budget was $20 million. And now DuVernay has crossed the $100 million mark — and only five years following the release of her first indie feature. She’s done that on authenticity and talent. This is a normal path for male directors, but one rarely accessible to women.
Congratulations to Ava DuVernay!
You better serve that Black Girl Magic!
