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July 04, 2022
Motion Picture Academy spot for Māori storyteller
Moeawa Fransen
Posted On July 4, 2022
Download AudioScreenwriter and director Briar Grace-Smith says she’s honoured to be invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Grace-Smith was invited to join in the director category for her work on Cousins and Waru.
She says her work doesn’t fit the conventional model, and the invitation may be a sign the Academy, whose members vote on the annual Oscar awards, may be a sign of change.
“Often we tell our stories in a non-linear way and what’s great for me is we are able now, we are getting more of a voice and a platform to tell our stories our own way and slowly it’s becoming accepted as way of telling stories. There is not just one way, not just the traditional Hollywood way of telling stories and making films,” she says.
Actor Rena Owen has also been invited to join the academy.
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