Ava DuVernay wins Producers Guild of America Visionary Award

Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Selma, Queen Sugar and A Wrinkle in Time filmmaker Ava DuVernay is to be honored with the Producers Guild of America's 2018 Visionary Award in Los Angeles next month.

"This is so lovely and unexpected. I love producing. Almost as much as directing. So you know that's a lot! My thanks to @ProducersGuild for this encouraging recognition," DuVernay tweeted.

The prize is to be presented Jan. 20 at the 29th annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

"The emergence of Ava DuVernay as a producer and filmmaker has been one of the great developments of the past several years. Whether in scripted features, television or documentaries, her unique voice, skill and passion have inspired countless audiences throughout our country and around the world. She is, by any standard, a visionary storyteller, and we are excited to be honoring her as such in 2018," Producers Guild Awards Chairs Donald De Line and Amy Pascal said in a joint statement Thursday.