Director and producer Ava DuVernay will be receiving a high honor later this year when she is awarded the 2022 International Emmy® Founders Award at the 50th International Emmy® Awards Gala.
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that the director, writer, and producer would receive the honor on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in New York City.
“This honor from the International Academy
of Television Arts & Sciences is unexpected and wildly appreciated,” said DuVernay in a written statement. “I thank the organization for recognizing my work and salute their efforts to ensure that storytellers of all backgrounds are amplified and celebrated.”DuVernay, whose credits include Queen Sugar, Selma, Colin in Black and White, When They See Us, and Middle of Nowhere, is an Academy Award nominee and winner of the Emmy®, BAFTA, and Peabody Awards. Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time
made her the highest-grossing Black woman director in American box office history.“Ava DuVernay is a force of nature and this is reflected in the remarkable scope and volume of her work. She makes significant films and television programs, she uses her platform to reshape our industry and continues to lead a career-long effort to bolster women and people of color in entertainment and ensure inclusivity,” said International Academy President & CEO Bruce L. Paisner
. “We look forward to honoring her extraordinary talent and prolific decade of leadership at ARRAY, with our Founders Award.”DuVernay sits on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which represents the directors’ branch. She also serves as Vice-President of the Directors Guild of America and an advisory board member of the American Film Institute.
In 2011, DuVernay founded ARRAY, a Peabody Award-winning multiplatform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change. The organization, through its work, has several mission-driven entities: the film distribution arm ARRAY Releasing, the content company ARRAY Filmworks, the programming and production hub ARRAY Creative Campus, and the nonprofit group ARRAY Alliance.