Popular Telugu producer, CV Reddy, who has been on the jury for the National film awards, a few times in the past has now gotten a rare and significant opportunity. He will be chairing the committee which would be selecting the official Indian entry into the Oscars.
The director and producer who has worked across Telugu, Tamil and Kannada industries has previously been on the jury for several other International film award ceremonies as well, and this is the first time he will be a part of the Oscar entry selection team. He will be heading the committee which will be consisting of other members too.
The team would be watching all the submissions and finally choosing the entry to the foreign language category in the Academy awards. He will be the first South Indian film personality to be heading this jury.
On Wednesday, June 28, 2017, Oscar Academy's 'Class of 2017' list was announced. The list witnessed about 700 new members from 57 countries. From India, actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and few others are invited. Directors like Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, Mrinal Sen are also invited.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences stated in the official Oscar website, “We're proud to invite our newest class to the Academy. The entire motion picture community is what we make of it. It's up to all of us to ensure that new faces and voices are seen and heard, and to take a shot on the next generation the way someone took a shot on each of us”.
The new members invited are part of seven branches that include actors, casting directors, costume designers, designers, documentary, executives and film editors.