TNS
Veteran multiple award-winning Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, popularly known as ‘Omosexy’, Nigerian filmmaker and producer, Femi Odugbemi, have been formally invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences popularly known as the Oscars.
They are among the four Nigerians that have been listed among the 928 members for the Oscar Voting Academy this year.
The academy organizes and decides the nominations for the universally acclaimed Oscars award for motion pictures. It is the world’s most prominent movie-related organization, comprising of over eight thousand accomplished men and women working in cinema.
Academy membership is limited to film artists working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures.
According to reports, Omotola’s invitation stems from the recognition she got in the 2010 romantic drama ‘A Private Storm’ and the 2012 thriller ‘Last Flight to Abuja’.
In 2014, she was honoured by the Nigerian government as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR for her contributions to Nigerian Entertainment Industry and she is also applauded for her remarkable humanitarian efforts.
She was also recognized in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world alongside Michelle Obama, Beyonce and Kate Middleton.
Since Omotola’s Nollywood debut in 1995, the screen diva has appeared in over 300 films, selling millions of video copies.
Tinsel producer Femi Odugbemi, took to his social media page, to share the news of his invitation to the Oscars on Monday.
He wrote: “so today, I received a formal invitation to become a voting member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States. Honoured! #Oscars #
Mr Odugbemi, who studied film and television at The Montana State University, has scripted, directed and produced numerous documentaries, short films and drama. The producer’s filmmaking credits include ‘Gidi Blues’, ‘Battleground’, ‘Maroko’ and ‘Bariga Boy ’, Literature, Language and Literalism’ about the late Nigerian writer, Daniel Fagunwa, the author of ‘Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀’.
In 2008, he produced ‘Abobaku’, a short film directed by Niji Akanni. The film won the Most Outstanding Short Film at the Zuma Film Festival held in 2010.
The two other Nigerians invited include Wunmi Mosaku, a film producer, and Ngozi Onwurah, a director.
Mosaku is a Nigerian-born British actress who won the 2017 BAFTA TV Award for best-supporting actress for her role as Gloria Taylor in the TV film ‘Damilola, Our Loved Boy’.
Onwurah is also a Nigerian-born British producer, director and lecturer who won the best short film at the Melbourne Film Festival, Australia and best documentary at the Montreal Film Festival, Canada for ‘The Body Beautiful’.
This post first appeared on NET.
