Ukrainian filmmakers Mstislav Chernov and Serhiy Loznitsa have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of the United States.
Chernov and Loznitsa are among the 487 new members invited to join the Academy, which votes for the annual Oscar winners.
If all those invited agree to join the Academy, the total number of voting members will be 9,934.
Chernov's documentary 20 Days in Mariupol won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 96th Academy Awards in March 2024.
The documentary tells the story of the Russian siege of Mariupol through the eyes of Chernov and his team during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. It is the first Ukrainian film made by a Ukrainian director to win an Oscar.
Loznitsa is of Belarusian origin but moved to Kyiv as a child and has been making films since 2000. He has focused on documentaries, but has also directed five feature films, including the award-winning 2018 film Donbas.