The organisation that awards the Oscars has invited 819 new members to join its ranks, including several stars of the South Korean film Parasite.
The drama-thriller made history earlier this year when it became the first foreign language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Among those invited to join the Academy are actors Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Lee Jung-Eun and Park So-Dam, as well as the movie's editor, costume designer and other crew members. The movie's director Bong Joon-ho and lead actor Song Kang-ho were invited in 2015.
With this year’s new members, the Academy has exceeded its goal, set in 2016, to diversify its membership by 2020.
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The best moments from the 2020 Oscars
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Among other new members, who come from 68 countries, are actors Awkwafina, Ana de Armas, Cynthia Erivo, Niecy Nash, Florence Pugh and John David Washington, and director and writer Lulu Wang.
The academy launched an effort to diversify its ranks after facing criticism in 2015 when the #OscarsSoWhite movement highlighted a lack of Black actors nominated for the film industry's top awards.
With the new list, 33 per cent of the academy's 9,000-plus members are women and 19 per cent come from underrepresented racial or ethnic communities, the Academy said.
The goal set in 2016 aimed to double the number of women and people from underrepresented communities by 2020. In 2015, 25 per cent of the membership were women and 10 per cent from underrepresented groups.
"We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one," said Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson. "We are committed to staying the course."
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
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