Los Angeles (AFP)

Black American director Ava DuVernay, known for her anti-racist positions and works, was elected Wednesday to the steering committee of the Academy of Oscars which awards the most prestigious cinematographic prizes in Hollywood.

With 26 women and 12 people of color out of 54 governors in total (against 25 and 11 previously), the composition of the committee which directs the Academy has never been so diverse, note the specialized media.

Four of the new governors elected for the first time this year are women, while black actress Whoopi Goldberg has been re-elected.

Director Ava DuVernay owes her notoriety to the series "Dans leur regard" retracing the true story of five black and Latino teenagers wrongly accused of raping a jogger in Central Park in the late 80s, and to the documentary "Le 13th "on the mass incarceration of blacks in the United States.

The committee of governors, renewed by thirds each year, represents the different professional branches of the cinema industry and has the task of defining the strategic objectives of the Academy.

The Academy of Oscars has been strongly criticized in recent years for its lack of diversity, not only among its members but also in the choice of its nominees and winners.

A #OscarsSoWhite campaign had been launched on social networks in January 2015 when the Oscars had rewarded an overwhelming majority of white candidates.

The film "Selma", directed by Ava DuVernay and retracing the historic fight led by Martin Luther King to obtain the right to vote for all American citizens, was one of the works in the running that year.

Selected in the category of "best film", he had to settle for the Oscar for "best song" and many had judged at the time that "Selma" was unjustly ignored.

Its star actor, David Oyelowo, said last week that members of the Academy had threatened to harm the promotion of the film when the team had worn "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts at the premiere of the film in 2014.

They thus intended to protest against the death of Eric Garner, a black American asphyxiated while he had been arrested by the police, like George Floyd recently.

The Academy of Oscars replied on Twitter to David Oyelowo: "Ava & David, we can hear you. Unacceptable. We are committed to improving ourselves."

© 2020 AFP