The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is one of the most prestigious organisations in the world of film. And now, with a new focus on diversity, they’re inviting a record 928 people from all over the world to join. Of course, the list includes a few Japanese directors and film crew members. And we know that anime fans know of a few of them:

  • Director Atsuko Hirayanagi (“Oh Lucy!”)
  • Director Mamoru Hosoda (The Boy and The Beast, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children)
  • Director Sunao Katabuchi (In This Corner of the World)
  • Director Ru Kuwahata (“Negative Space,” “Something Left, Something Taken”)
  • Director Makoto Shinkai (your name., Children Who Chase Lost Voices, 5 Centimeters Per Second)
  • Director Sion Sono (Tokyo Vampire Hotel, The Whispering Star, Suicide Club, Tokyo Tribe)
  • Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (Red Cliff, House of Flying Daggers)
  • Actor Issei Ogata (Silence, Yi Yi)
  • Composer Yoko Kanno (Our Little Sister/Umimachi Diary, Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop)
  • Designer Keiko Mitsumatsu (Our Little Sister/Umimachi Diary, Nobody Knows)

If they ever accept their invitation, they get to have the power to choose which films get nominated for an Oscar. They also get the power to decide which nominees will be getting that Oscar.

Previously, the Academy invited several Studio Ghibli executives to join. Of course, this includes the Oscar-winning Hayao Miyazaki, who they invited four times already. They also invited the late Isao Takahata, who declined the invitation, as well as Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki. Aside from the Ghibli executives, they also previously invited Rinko Kikuchi (The Sky Crawlers, Pacific Rim), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Dagger of Kamui, Onmyoji), and Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Blade of the Immortal).