With a focus on female and minority talent, the Board of Governors have invited 683 new members. Irish directors John Crowley of ‘Brooklyn’, Lenny Abrahamson of ‘Room’, and Benjamin Cleary of ‘Stutterer’ are among those invited.
Other Irish talents include writer Emma Donoghue, directors Orlagh George and Nora Twomey, and producers Ed Guiney and Mark Huffam. The invitations follow an outstanding year for Irish film, with nine Oscar nominations in total with Ben Cleary taking home the Oscar for Best Live Action Short for 'Stutterer.'
This year’s invitations were sent to a 46% female group, with people of colour making up 41%. This move for diversity follows from a statement published on January 22nd 2016, in which the Board of Governors addressed the future changes needed in order to assure diversity in its membership composition.
It stated, “The Board’s goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.”
Female talents invited include Alicia Vikander who co-starred with Domhnall Gleeson in ‘Ex Machina’ and lead actress Brie Larson from Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Room’.
The full list of new members is available here
