HLS 15RS-4396 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 184
BY REPRESENTATIVE GAINES
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Ava Marie DuVernay, an American director,
screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor, for her many accomplishments
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Ava Marie DuVernay, an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and
3 film distributor, for her many accomplishments.
4 WHEREAS, born on August 24, 1972, in Long Beach, California, Ava Marie
5DuVernay attended Saint Joseph High School, where she graduated in 1990; she furthered
6her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated with a
7bachelor of arts degree in 1995; and
8 WHEREAS, throughout her college years, Ms. DuVernay became interested in
9producing for broadcast journalism; she interned at CBS News and worked on the national
10evening news with Connie Chung and Dan Rather during the O.J. Simpson murder trial; and
11 WHEREAS, Ms. DuVernay decided to focus on publicity; after her college
12graduation, she worked at FOX, Savoy Pictures, and other public relations firms for four
13years before she formed her own agency, The DuVernay Agency, later known as DVA
14Media + Marketing, in 1999; and
15 WHEREAS, her award winning marketing and publicity firm has provided strategy
16and execution for more than one hundred film and television projects by many famous
17directors, such as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Mann, Robert Rodriguez,
18Kevin Smith, Bill Condon, Raoul Peck, and Gurinder Chadha; and
19 WHEREAS, in 2008, Ms. DuVernay made her feature directorial debut with the
20documentary This Is the Life, a history of Los Angeles' Good Life Cafe's arts movement; in
212011, her first narrative feature film titled I Will Follow, starring Salli Richardson-Whitfield,
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HR NO. 184
1was released theatrically; Ms. DuVernay's aunt, Denise Sexton, served as the inspiration for
2this film; and
3 WHEREAS, Roger Ebert recognized I Will Follow as one of the best films he had
4seen about coming to terms with the death of a loved one; the film was also an official
5selection of the American Film Institute Fest, the Pan-African Film Festival, and the
6Urbanworld and Chicago International Film Festival; and
7 WHEREAS, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Ms. DuVernay won the Best
8Director prize for her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere; she became the first African
9American woman to receive this award; and
10 WHEREAS, Ms. DuVernay also directed and co-wrote the movie Selma, a twenty
11million dollar budget movie produced by Plan B Entertainment; and
12 WHEREAS, the unforgettable story chronicles the tumultuous Selma movement
13organized and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership
14Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; culminated by the
15courageous events of "Bloody Sunday" and the historic "Selma to Montgomery March", the
16film vividly depicted the institutional challenges and brutality faced by the committed
17protest organizers and brave marchers; and
18 WHEREAS, Selma is recognized as being one of the most powerful movies ever
19produced; it pulls together a very complex series of elements into a single narrative flow
20while accurately displaying the heart, spirit, sacrifices, and ultimate triumph of the Civil
21Rights Movement; and
22 WHEREAS, the movie was released on December 25, 2014, and was nominated for
23Best Picture and Best Song by the Academy Awards; and
24 WHEREAS, for her work with Selma, Ms. DuVernay was the first black female
25director nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the first black female director to have a
26film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture; and
27 WHEREAS, it is appropriate to recognize and commend Ava Marie DuVernay, an
28American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor, upon her many
29accomplishments and for the great pride she brings to the film industry.
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HR NO. 184
1 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
2Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Ava Marie DuVernay for her many
3accomplishments as an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor
4and does hereby extend to her every good wish of success in all her future endeavors.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
6to Ava Marie DuVernay.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 184 Original 2015 Regular Session Gaines
Commends Ava Marie DuVernay, an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and
film distributor, for her many accomplishments.
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