Ava DuVernay
Notable Works: Selma (2014), Middle of Nowhere (2012)
Impact: Before getting into the director’s chair, she was a publicist for TV and movies and has 100 credits to her name. Some of the films she worked on included Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). DuVernay is the first Black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on Selma. The director also is in talks to direct a future Marvel film.
Amma Asante
Notable Works: Belle (2013)
Impact: Asante began her career in the British entertainment industry as a child actor. She began writing and directing in the 2000s, and her film Belle made her a standout in an all-male and mostly white industry. She won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for her 2004 breakout film A Way of Life.