STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Ava Duvernay Wins Sundance Best Director Award For Middle of Nowhere

DuVernay is the first African-American woman to receive the honor.

On Sunday, January 29, Ava Duvernay became the first Black woman to win Best Director at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  Duvernay’s film Middle of Nowhere beat out festival favorite Beasts of the Southern Wild (directed by Benh Zeitlin), a story inspired by survivors of Hurricane Katrina who refused to leave New Orleans.

Nowhere is the story of a woman named Ruby who is forced to change her life after her husband is handed an eight year prison sentence. "It touches on the prison wives' tale, but really the story of a woman who's living in a relationship that's imbalanced," Duvernay said.

The movie was released by Forward Movement, who also produced the director's debut film, I Will Follow, released last March. Duvernay’s distribution company, African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, (AFFRM), released Middle of Nowhere and the film was picked up by Participant Media, which also distributed An Inconvenient TruthWaiting For Superman and The Help.

Watch the trailer for Middle of Nowhere above. 

 

Check out other Black films at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival
BET.com is your #1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.