ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 184
BY REPRESENTATIVE GAINES
A RESOLUTION
To commend Ava Marie DuVernay, an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and
film distributor, for her many accomplishments.
WHEREAS, born on August 24, 1972, in Long Beach, California, Ava Marie
DuVernay attended Saint Joseph High School, where she graduated in 1990; she furthered
her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated with a
bachelor of arts degree in 1995; and
WHEREAS, throughout her college years, Ms. DuVernay became interested in
producing for broadcast journalism; she interned at CBS News and worked on the national
evening news with Connie Chung and Dan Rather during the O.J. Simpson murder trial; and
WHEREAS, Ms. DuVernay decided to focus on publicity; after her college
graduation, she worked at FOX, Savoy Pictures, and other public relations firms for four
years before she formed her own agency, The DuVernay Agency, later known as DVA
Media + Marketing, in 1999; and
WHEREAS, her award winning marketing and publicity firm has provided strategy
and execution for more than one hundred film and television projects by many famous
directors, such as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Mann, Robert Rodriguez,
Kevin Smith, Bill Condon, Raoul Peck, and Gurinder Chadha; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Ms. DuVernay made her feature directorial debut with the
documentary This Is the Life, a history of Los Angeles' Good Life Cafe's arts movement; in
2011, her first narrative feature film titled I Will Follow, starring Salli Richardson-Whitfield,
was released theatrically; Ms. DuVernay's aunt, Denise Sexton, served as the inspiration for
this film; and
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WHEREAS, Roger Ebert recognized I Will Follow as one of the best films he had
seen about coming to terms with the death of a loved one; the film was also an official
selection of the American Film Institute Fest, the Pan-African Film Festival, and the
Urbanworld and Chicago International Film Festival; and
WHEREAS, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Ms. DuVernay won the Best
Director prize for her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere; she became the first African
American woman to receive this award; and
WHEREAS, Ms. DuVernay also directed and co-wrote the movie Selma, a twenty
million dollar budget movie produced by Plan B Entertainment; and
WHEREAS, the unforgettable story chronicles the tumultuous Selma movement
organized and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; culminated by the
courageous events of "Bloody Sunday" and the historic "Selma to Montgomery March", the
film vividly depicted the institutional challenges and brutality faced by the committed
protest organizers and brave marchers; and
WHEREAS, Selma is recognized as being one of the most powerful movies ever
produced; it pulls together a very complex series of elements into a single narrative flow
while accurately displaying the heart, spirit, sacrifices, and ultimate triumph of the Civil
Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, the movie was released on December 25, 2014, and was nominated for
Best Picture and Best Song by the Academy Awards; and
WHEREAS, for her work with Selma, Ms. DuVernay was the first black female
director nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the first black female director to have a
film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to recognize and commend Ava Marie DuVernay, an
American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor, upon her many
accomplishments and for the great pride she brings to the film industry.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Ava Marie DuVernay for her many
accomplishments as an American director, screenwriter, film marketer, and film distributor
and does hereby extend to her every good wish of success in all her future endeavors.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Ava Marie DuVernay.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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