TORONTO, ON – In its effort to keep diversity at the forefront of its mandate, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 842 new members from 59 countries to join the organization responsible for the Oscar nominations, and Canadian filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon is on the list of directors. She is in good company with Jonathan M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Nisha Ganatra (Late Night), Liza Johnson (Elvis & Nixon) and Jon Baird (Stan & Ollie).

“I am extremely excited and honoured to be a part of this esteemed and diverse group of invitees,” said Solomon, who is currently on a world tour of her film Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross. “What means even more to me is that I was nominated by a woman of colour director. This shows representation matters.”

Award-winning African-American director Ava DuVernay (When They See Us) put Solomon’s name forward to the Academy. Only members can sponsor colleagues to join, which happens once a year. The 2019 list is made up of 50 per cent female and 29 per cent are people of colour.

Solomon chaired the 2019 Feature Film Nomination Committee for the Canadian Screen Awards and is a member of the Director’s Guild of Canada. She is currently Artist-In-Residence at Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts. She recently founded CineFAM, which supports Women of Colour creators worldwide. Solomon is CEO of the CaribbeanTales Media group and has run the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival for the last 14 years.