The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS) has invited Samira Makhmalbaf, the Iranian renown film director, to join the organisation as one of its newest members.
To be considered for an invitation of membership in the Directors Branch of the Academy, an individual must have a minimum of two directorial credits on theatrical feature films of a calibre which, in the opinion of the executive committee, reflect the high standards of the Academy.
Furthermore, to receive an invitation, the director must have achieved unique distinction, earned special merit and made an outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry in the world.
Samira Makhmalbaf, with her debut film "The Apple" at the age of 17, holds the record as the youngest director ever to be selected for the official section of Cannes Film Festival in the world.
In the year 2000, with her second feature "Blackboards" Samira won the Grand Jury Prize of Cannes Film Festival.
Later on, she went to direct one of the episodes of the feature "September 11" alongside other master directors like Sean Penn, Ken Loach, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Amos Gitai and Claude Lelouch of France.
Her third feature "At Five in the Afternoon", once again touching the heart and mind of the jury at Cannes 2003, brought Samira her second Grand Jury Prize, making her the only female director in the world to have won twice at Cannes Film Festival till this day.
Her fourth award-winning feature "Two-Legged Horse", once again positioned her as one of the greatest female directors world have ever seen.
"With four features and a short film under her belt, Samira Makhmalbaf is a skilled and confident professional, not only a leader for Middle Eastern women, but also for women in the film industry the world over…
On set, she is ruthless, energetic, even a bully. She knows what she wants, and her directing is fierce. She is shockingly direct, confronting an elderly mullah with an untraditional lack of deference with complete bravery in a yet fundamentalist society like Kabul post-Taliban… (pictured in a behind the scene documentary)
Such audacity and courage make this young director important. In At Five in the Afternoon - her fourth film - she considers Afghanistan's future, post-Taliban, and asks whether Afghan women will emerge from underneath the burqa and take power…" Nicole Mowbray.
The Academy announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday, June 30.
Some of the people invited to join from all areas of the film industry includes Cannes head Thierry Fremaux, Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly has been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold), Pippa Harris (1917), Bénédicte Couvreur (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire)…
"The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travellers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now," said Academy President David Rubin.
This invitation is addressed to those artists and executives in the film industry who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.
Source of the news:
Oscars -30 June 2020
Screen Daily - Jeremey Kay - 30 June 2020
Newstateman - by Nicole Mowbray
