It’s always good to hear when our Egyptian talents get the recognition they deserve. We get excited whenever an Egyptian movie makes international headlines or wins an international award. But the news we’re bearing at the moment is different. We’re proud to tell you that Egyptian filmmaker Amr Salama, producer Mohamed Hefzy, and legendary actor Yousra were selected to be among the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences’ new members.
According to the Academy’s official website, 842 new members from 59 different countries, with an increased female membership of 50%, were added. And we’re more than proud to say that these three Egyptian names made it on to the prestigious list. This is excellent news as they will be part of the governing body of the Academy and they’ll get to vote and choose Academy award-winning movies from now on.
“Officially, I’m now a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars)”, Amr Salama wrote on his official Facebook account. Hefzy also wrote on his official page on Facebook, “I am glad I joined the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science”. Meanwhile, Yousra still hasn’t commented on the news.
This is not the first time for an Egyptian to join though. Mohamed Diab, the renowned director and screenwriter, was also selected as a member of the Academy back in 2017 after his heart-wrenching hit movie Eshtbak.
Amr Salama has always been a true talent. Two of his feature films have won more than 35 international awards. Those acclaimed films are Asmaa, and La Mo’ akhza. His recent movie El Sheikh Jackson, in particular, grabbed massive attention and was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, however, it wasn’t nominated.
Mohamed Hefzy, the award-winning Egyptian screenwriter, is also an extraordinary icon in the industry. He’s written and produced nearly 30 films in Egypt, the UK, the US, and the Arab world as well. His most recent film production “Yomeddine” made it to the Cannes Film Festival and won the François Chalais Award.
It’s worth mentioning that both Hefzy and Salama recently collaborated to start working on the horror series “Paranormal” which will be the first Egyptian Netflix original. The series is based on late author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s horror series “Ma Wara’ Al Tabi’aa”.
We can’t forget our beloved actor Yousra, who has always been the Egyptian screen’s favourite for her astounding roles in cinema and drama. She has worked with our super-talented director, Youssef Chahine, in multiple movies like Hadouta Masreya and Al Mohager. Yousra has also won over 50 awards for her work as a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) goodwill ambassador.
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By Yara Tarek
