Avril has over eighteen years of experience as a filmmaker to include credits as a producer, writer, director, and editor. She made her directorial debut in 1999 when she directed her first feature film The Round Table, then later went on to complete the award-winning feature film Sophisticated Romance.
She earned her M.F.A. in Film Directing from Columbia University School of the Arts in New York City, her B.S. from the University of Maryland in African American Studies and studied film production at Howard University. Upon graduating from Columbia, Avril worked in development for USA Films (currently Focus Features) and the Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers.
As an advocate of film education and training, Avril has shared her passion for the arts by volunteering for several film-related panel discussions and festivals, and as a full time professor at Howard University in Washington, DC. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University in the Theater, Film and Television department, and a Teaching Artist at Greenway Arts Alliance, all while earning her second master’s degree in Theology and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Avril continues to direct and edit various film and video projects, including Defining Moments, which screened as part of The Woman’s Angle Project in 2007, and has since won the award for Best Film in the Undiscovered competition on Conversantlife.com. She also edited the award-winning feature-length documentary Faithfully Divided, while currently in development for the web series Sisters.