TT-born director selected for Oscars committee

TT-BORN, Canadian award-winning film director Frances-Anne Solomon will now be a part of the group reviewing candidates for an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation responsible for the Oscars.

She will serve on the Directors Branch Executive Committee for a year.

Solomon received the news this week from academy governors Ava DuVernay, Rodrigo Garcia and Steven Spielberg. The e-mail sent to her said, “You were selected to serve because we and our branch members consider you to be a thoughtful, creative and innovative representative for the branch.”

Solomon’s Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr Ulric Cross opened this year’s Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

She joined the academy last year.

“It was a wonderful experience to see a show I’ve watched on television for so many years unfold right before my eyes. And now being a part of the Directors Branch Executive Committee where my voice will be heard and valued in the film community is an honour,” she said in the release.

Solomon was one of 842 new invitees – half of them women and one third people of colour – in a move to improve the diversity of the academy voters, the release said.

This year all members of the academy branch executive committees will be asked to participate in a conversation about equity and inclusion as part of the academy’s Aperture 2025 initiative. The initiative is a part of the academy’s ongoing efforts to advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community, oscars.org said.