Director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor Ava DuVernay wears many hats, but she’s finally getting the props she deserves. In recent months, ladies of color have been doing the d*mn thing and appearing on a number of magazine covers from Beyoncé to Taraji P. Henson to Viola Davis to Gina Rodriguez.
Representing for the women behind the scenes. And the sisters. And the naturalistas. And Compton. xo https://t.co/VG9GzMgH8Z
— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) October 14, 2015
ELLE Magazine snagged the 43-year-old to graces their November issue, one of eight commemorative “Women In Hollywood” covers celebrating the biggest female names in the film industry. Photographed by Paola Kudacki and styled by Simon Robins, the Compton native rocks a silk dress from Calvin Klein Collection and a copper, zinc, and silicium earring from Balmain on the cover.
Inside, she talks her upcoming series, Queen Sugar, on OWN in addition to a slew of other projects she has in the works – including her own distribution company aimed at getting more black films into theaters.
“There’s a generation of filmmakers of color and women whose primary concern is that no one will see their work,” DuVernay said of her distribution company ARRAY. “And that is a huge barrier. They’re asking, ‘Why make something if no one will see it?”
Vixens, you can grab Ava’s issue when it hits newsstands nationwide on Oct. 20.