Filmmaker Levan Akin among latest members of the Oscars' Academy
Swedish film director Levan Akin has been recognised for his directorial work with the invitation to join the prestigious American organisation. Photo: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs/Susy Lagrange.
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Filmmaker Levan Akin, director of the award-winning feature And Then We Danced, is among film professionals invited to become the latest members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, receiving the honour from the prestigious American organisation for his directorial work.
Akin, a Swedish filmmaker whose parents emigrated from Georgia in the 1970s, is alongside the likes of actors Zendaya Coleman (The Greatest Showman) and Choi Woo-Shik (Parasite) and director Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland) in the list of over 800 film professionals who have received the invitation from the organisation.
The acknowledgement follows success of his 2019 feature, which collected dozens of awards and nominations during its festival run and was picked by Sweden as the country's 2020 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film bid.
Prizes for the film - from the Sarajevo Film Festival Award for Best Actor for Levan Gelbakhiani, to the European Film Award nomination and the Chicago International Film Festival Gold Q-Hugo - followed its premiere at the 2019 Directors’ Fortnight festival in Cannes.
Say hello to our brand new class of Academy members. #WeAreTheAcademy https://t.co/jRJWPQYH1Y
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) June 30, 2020
The filmmaker made his feature debut with Certain People (2011), nominated for the Best Film Award at the Stockholm Film Festival, with Yohanna Idha receiving the Best Actress Award for her part.
The work had its international premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim, before Akin also directed The Circle (2015), which debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Akin has also directed TV series for Sweden's public broadcasting television, including Real Humans (2012) and Second Avenue (2008).
Georgian film professionals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences includes Giorgi Shvelidze (2019), Nana Jorjadze (2017) and Zaza Urushadze (2015).
The full list of film professionals invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can be viewed on the official website.