Ava DuVernay To Be Honored As Television Showman Of The Year By ICG Publicists

Ava DuVernay will receive the Television Showman of the Year award at the 57th annual ICG Publicists Awards.

“Ava DuVernay is the talented force behind some of the most acclaimed works in television and film,” said Publicists Awards Co-chair Sheryl Main in making the announcement Thursday. “Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Ava was an entertainment publicist for 12 years with her own firm. She appreciates the importance of creative strategic marketing campaigns and supports the roles of publicists in making a movie. We are proud to honor Ava, her expanding career and growing body of work.”

Winner of Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody Awards, Oscar nominee DuVernay’s directorial work includes the historical feature film Selma, the criminal justice documentary 13th, and Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, which made her the highest grossing black woman director in American box office history. Her limited series When They See Us, based on the infamous case of The Central Park Five, recently earned 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Director and Writer for a Limited Series nominations for DuVernay. Currently, she oversees production on the fifth season of her critically-acclaimed TV series Queen Sugar and her upcoming romance anthology Cherish the Day for OWN. Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s Best Director Prize for her independent film Middle of Nowhere, DuVernay continues to amplify the work of people of color and women of all kinds through her multi-platform media company and arts collective Array.

Said DuVernay: “This honor means something very special to me. It comes from a tribe of professionals that I was proud to call myself a part of for over a decade. I’m more thrilled to be recognized by the publicist community than I can express.”

Past recipients of the ICG’s Television Showman of the Year Award include Greg Berlanti, Ryan Murphy, John Landgraf, Ted Sarandos, Shonda Rhimes, Chuck Lorre, Nina Tassler, Fred Silverman, Steven Bochco, Aaron Spelling and Bob Hope, among others.

The 2020 International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards, which celebrate excellence in publicity and promotion for motion pictures and television programs, is set for February 7 at the Beverly Hilton. As previously announced, Don Mischer will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.