After accusations of being overwhelmingly white, with there being little or no diversity amongst the nominees this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the induction of 683 new members. And the good news is that you could not ask for a more diverse bunch. Internationally, there are 283 nominees from 59 countries. Forty-six per cent of the new inductees are female and forty-one per cent are people of colour, which is extremely heartening. From the actor pool, inductees include Mahershala Ali ( The Hunger Games films and Netflix series, House of Cards ), John Boyega ( Star Wars: The Force Awakens ), Idris Elba ( Beasts of No Nation ), Nia Long ( Keanu ) and Tatsuya Nakadai ( Ran ), amongst many others. India gets a look in with veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and Freida Pinto being amongst the inductees.
Elsewhere, casting directors Shaheen Baig and Carmen Cuba get a look in. Amongst cinematographers, Sofian El Fani ( Blue is the Warmest Colour ), Peter Pau ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ), Gökhan Tiryaki ( Once Upon a Time in Anatolia ) and Nelson Yu Lik-wai ( A Simple Life ) are all being inducted. And the list of diverse filmmakers joining include Asif Kapadia ( Amy ), Naji Abu Nowar ( Theeb ), Haifaa al-Mansour ( Wadjda ), Ana Lily Amirpour ( A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night ), Nuri Bilge Ceylan ( Winter Sleep ), Hou Hsiao-Hsien ( The Assassin ) and Naomi Kawase ( An ). I was surprised to see veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach, who’s won the Palme d’Or twice, getting his academy membership only now.
“On behalf of the Academy, I am honoured to extend membership invitations to 683 distinguished filmmakers, artists and executives, who represent the best in our global film community, and who have made a lasting impact on movie fans everywhere. We’re proud to welcome these new members to the Academy, and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation, a mission and not just a membership. This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today. We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President.
The Academy’s earlier diversity drives saw some 270 new members being inducted each year, with a significant portion of them being diverse. 683 more now that doubles that count. While these new members widen the membership pool and will go a long way in reducing the perception that the Oscars is a closed club and overwhelmingly white and male, the proof of the pudding will come when the 2,017 nominations are announced. Only if they do reflect the inherent diversity in the global film industry will the #oscarshowhite hashtag finally go away. Until then, let us wait and watch and applaud the Academy’s visible push for diversity.