Director
Edward Berger is accepted into the Oscar Academy
Director Edward Berger (“Nothing New in the West”) is accepted into the Oscar Academy. photo
© Jason Harrell/dpa
The Oscar Academy continues its diversity efforts. Significantly more women, minorities and non-Americans are among the new members of the film association.
Director Edward Berger is after his fourfold Oscar success with “Nothing New in the West” included in the Oscar Academy. The filmmaker, who was born in Wolfsburg, is one of 398 filmmakers invited as new members by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year. As the association announced, 22 Oscar winners and representatives from 51 countries are on the list.
Several filmmakers who worked on the anti-war film “Nothing New in the West” are also among the chosen few, including producer Malte Grunert, cinematographer James Friend, editor Sven Budelmann and production designers Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper. Sound and special effects artists who were involved in the film can also become members. With a sensational nine nominations, the literary adaptation won the Oscar trophies for music, cinematography, production design and best international film in March.
Director Maria Schrader (“She Said”) and cameraman Florian Hoffmeister (“Tár”) are other German filmmakers on the Academy list.
New members can vote in the future
The acting section includes Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) and Noémie Merlant (“Tár”). The German actress Martina Gedeck (“Bella Martha”, “The Lives of Others”) is also there. The Academy also considers past performances for its recordings.
Among the 18 invited musicians are pop star Taylor Swift, R&B singer The Weeknd and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. They participated in film songs.
The path to the academy leads through an Oscar nomination or other contribution and service to the film. There are over a dozen categories, including directing, cinematography, editing, acting, and music. In the future, the new members will be able to vote when the Oscars are awarded.
efforts towards diversity
The association, which has more than 10,000 members, has been trying to achieve more diversity for some time. In 2016, the academy announced that it would take in more women and minorities. Previously, older, white-skinned male members were dominant.
According to the academy, women make up 40 percent of new candidates. This would increase the proportion of women in the entire organization to 34 percent. More than half of the newcomers are non-Americans, which means that the proportion of foreigners at the academy has now risen to 20 percent.