Ava DuVernay

As the first Black woman to win the Best Director award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Ava DuVernay has a lot to be proud of.  Besides her roles as director, producer and writer for her own documentaries and films, the California native has her hands in a number of significant projects, including lending her services to BET's 2010 TV documentary My Mic Sounds Nice and TV One's 2010 Essence Music Festival. The writer/director is also the founder of the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) and award-winning DVA Media + Marketing, a content company which has supplied some of Hollywood's top conglomerates and entertainment networks.