The 2015 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, has rounded out its group of keynote speakers with acclaimed director Ava DuVernay and award-winning producer and composer RZA. They join director Mark Duplass for the festival set for March of next year.
DuVernay is most recently known for her work on Selma, the story about Martin Luther King Jr. and his crusade for African-American voting rights (readers can view the trailer here). She also won the Sundance Best Director Award and the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award for her previous film, Middle of Nowhere (2012). Selma has already been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Director. DuVernay also established AFFRM, a film collective dedicated to African-American film.
RZA has won multiple Grammys for his work and has collaborated with Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, and Michael Mann. He is also the creator and producer for Wu-Tang Clan and scored the American adaptation for Afro Samurai, an Emmy-nominated Japanese anime produced by and starring Samuel L. Jackson.
Both speakers along with Duplass (Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Cyrus) will speak at the keynote sessions at 11 a.m. March 14-March 17, 2015, at the Austin Convention Center during the SXSW Film portion of the multimedia festival.
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