This year's Pioneer Award is given to producer Ava DuVernay. Ava has proved that persistence; artistic integrity and commitment to quality will yield amazing results. Ava has been a first in many ways, she was the first director to win Best director at the Sundance film Festival, the first African-American female director to be nominated for Golden Globe and we completely believe that she will continue to be a force in Hollywood to be reckoned with and create powerful, memorable, evocative work that will stand the test of time. Ava continues to expand the boundaries of what women and black filmmakers can achieve and embody the very essence of the word Pioneer.

His directorial debut with "Dear White People" is one of the strongest most promising debuts we have ever seen. From his festival successes and turning his thesis short film into a feature film that is both funny and insightful makes us proud as African-Americans and reminds us of how important it is for us to be able to have the medium of film is a voice to express our experiences as part of the human condition.