Nigeria’s Femi Odugbemi becomes member of Oscars voting academy

Nigerian producer and filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi, has been invited into the voting membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States of America.

The academy organises and decides the nominations for the universally-acclaimed Oscars award for motion pictures.

Academy membership is limited to film artists working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures.

The academy has 17 branches ranging from actors, writers and two categories that involve members-at-large and associates to accommodate individuals who have no defined branches in motion picture.

Femi shared the news of his invitation to the Oscars on Instagram page on Monday.

He wrote: “so today, I received a formal invitation to become a voting member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States. Honoured! #Oscars #Vote4bestfilm.”

Odugbemi, who studied Film and Television at The Montana State University, scripted, directed and produced numerous documentaries, short films and drama.

He produced Tinsel, a widely acclaimed soap opera that started airing in August 2008 and celebrated as a successful drama on Nigerian television.

The producer’s filmmaking credits include Gidi Blues, Battleground, Maroko and Bariga Boy.

Odugbemi was the President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria in 2002, a tenure that ended in 2006.

He produced Abobaku, a short film directed by Niji Akanni in 2008. The film won the Most Outstanding Short Film at the Zuma Film Festival held in 2010.

In 2013, Odugbemi scripted, produced and directed a documentary titled, Literature, Language, and Literalism about the late Nigerian writer, Daniel O. Fagunwa, the author of Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irumale.