The American Film Academy has proposed the participation of outstanding filmmakers from different countries. Invitations were received by 819 people, including actors, directors, cameramen, casting directors, costumers, producers and other industry representatives.

The list includes five Russians. One of them was the editor Igor Litoninsky, whose filmography includes almost three dozen positions.

So, he worked on the Kantemir Balagov’s “Dylda” tape, which in 2019 was included in the short list of Oscar applicants. Litoninsky also had a hand in the creation of such paintings as “Inhabited Island”, “Lenin. Inevitability ”and“ Stalingrad ”.

Sound engineer Pavel Doreuli also worked on the military blockbuster Fedor Bondarchuk - he can also be found on the list. Doreuli has already collaborated with his American counterparts in the movie Die Hard: A Good Day to Die.

Membership in the academy is also offered to two figures of Russian documentary - Marina Razbezhkina and Vitaly Mansky - and visual effects supervisor Dmitry Tokoyakov.

49% of the total number of invitees live and work outside the United States. They represent 68 different states. When forming the list, the representatives of the academy were guided by the desire to bring diversity into their ranks.

“The film academy gladly welcomes these prominent like-minded people in the field of cinema and science. We are always (and especially now) ready to open the doors to an extraordinary talent that reflects the enormous diversity of the world cinema community, ”said Academy President David Rubin.

  • Academy President David Rubin
  • AFP
  • © Valerie Macon

Also among the new members of the Academy may be actors, directors and other members of the film crews who were nominees or prize winners. So, the organization invited the artists of the Oscar-winning band “Parasites” Jang He-jin, Cho Yo-john, Lee Jung-un and Pak So-dam, as well as some other team members.

George Mackay, Zazi Bitts (The Joker), Florence Pugh (The Little Women) and Thomasine Mackenzie (Jojo the Rabbit) also have the lead role in the 1917 Oscar-nominated film. In total, out of 819 possible participants in the academy, 75 claimed the Oscar, while 15 received the coveted figurine (and five more received awards for technical achievements).

Other actors who starred in popular films last year can join the film academy. Among them are the artist Aquafina, singer and model Zendaya, Ben Mendelssohn, Olivia Wilde and others.

By the way, eight people were invited to the academy as representatives of two professions. For example, Ludge Lee and Lulu Wang can claim to be a screenwriter or director, and Cynthia Erivo is offered membership as an actress or musician. If they want to join the academy, everyone will need to choose one field of activity.

If all those invited to the academy this year express a desire to join the organization, then the total number of its members will be more than 9.4 thousand people.

In 2016, the Academy committed to at least double in its ranks the number of women, as well as persons from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities. Indeed, there are twice as many female filmmakers and three times as few minority representatives as compared to 2015.

“We are proud to have made great strides by exceeding the inclusiveness target set in 2016, but we acknowledge that there is a long way to go,” said Don Hudson, CEO of the organization.