Filipino Talents Invited To Join AMPAS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) revealed their 2019 Class of 842 new members from different countries,  And, eight of them are of Filipino descent.

AMPAS announced that half of the members invited to join the Academy are women. AMPAS also disclosed that twenty-nine percent of the new invitees are people of color. If they accept their invites, AMPAS will have double the percentage of non-white people in their ranks in four years.  

In 2015, people of color accounted for only eight percent of the total body of the organization. In 2019, it stands at sixteen percent. 

The eight invitees include...

LISA VALENCIA-SVENSSON -
Producer of the documentary, CALL HER GANDA (2018).

RUTH VILLARAMA
Screenwriter, Filmmaker & Producer of the documentary, SUNDAY BEAUTY QUEEN (2016).

BOBBY PONTILLAS
Screenwriter & Filmmaker of the 2018 short film, ONE SMALL STEP, and Animator for the feature films ZOOTOPIA (2016), BIG HERO 6 (2014) and RIO (2011).

DITSI CAROLINO
Filmmaker & Producer of BUNSO: THE YOUNGEST (2005), MULA PABRIKA HANGGANG FUKUOKA (1999) and MINSAN LANG SILA BATA (1996)

PJ RAVAL
Filmmaker of the documentary, CALL HER GANDA (2018).

TREVOR JIMENEZ
Screenwriter, Filmmaker & Animator of the short film, WEEKENDS (2018), and Animator for COCO (2017), FINDING DORY (2016) and RIO (2011).

JOSIE TRINIDAD
Animator, Screenwriter & Actress for the feature films RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (2018), ZOOTOPIA (2016), BIG HERO 6 (2014) and WRECK IT RALPH (2012).

TAMLYN TOMITA
Actress, THE GOOD DOCTOR (2017-present), THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993) and THE KARATE KID, PART II (1986).

After all the invitations are accepted, AMPAS will host a mixer later this year.