Tehran – Among 554 artists and executives there are five Iranians.
Filmmakers Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani, Saeed Roustayi, actor Payman Maadi and cinematographer Ali Ghazi are Iranians who were invited to. The invitees have made everything stand out with their contributions to film over the past few years, Isna reports.
“We’ve been working hard to get the better of our customers,” said Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy and Janet Yang, chairman of the Academy. “Through our commitment to filmmaking and the larger film industry, these highly talented individuals have made an indelible contribution to our global filmmaking community.”
In early March, Joséin Moleimi and Sirinsohani won the best animated short film at the 97th Academy Awards for “Shadow of Cylus” at the 2025 Oscars. This was the first Iranian animated or live-action short film to win an Oscar.
Molayemi and Sohani can choose between animated branches and short film branches to join the academy.
The pair holds a master’s degree in animation, directed by the Tehran University of Art. Molayemi began her professional career in 2004. He works as a director, character designer, storyboard artist, animator and university lecturer.
Sohani began his professional career in 2012, serving as director, concept artist, background artist, scriptwriter and production manager.
Saeed Roustayi, 35, is known for his “Brothers of Leila”, “Tehran Law”, “Life and Days”, and “Women and Children”.
Filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Roustayi’s work focuses primarily on the issue of social injustice and the portrayal of women in Iranian society.
He graduated from Sole University and earned a bachelor’s degree in film and television. He won two Crystal Simoog Awards for his debut feature film, Life and A Day (2016) at the FAJR International Film Festival for his best director and best script. The film also won the best feature of 2016 Reflet D’Or at Tous Ecrans at the Geneva International Film Festival.
Roustayi’s second feature film, “Law of Tehran” (2019), was nominated for the Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film. Also known as “6.5”, it received good reviews with critics at the 76th Venice Film Festival, and won multiple awards at the 37th FAJR Film Festival, including Crystal Simoog for viewers’ choice.
His third and fourth films, Leila’s Brothers and Women and Children, competed in Cannes Film Festival 2022 and 2025, respectively, with the former winning the Citizenship Award at the Fiplesci and Cannes 2022.
54-year-old Payman Maddy is the star of “A Separation,” an Oscar-winning drama by Asgal Farhadi, who won Silver Bear for his best actor at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 for his role in the film.
Maadi co-starred with Christen Stewart in 2014 in US director Peter Sattler’s debut “Camp X-ray,” and in 2015 they collaborated on Japanese director Kiriya’s action adventure “Last Night.”
Ali Gazi, 49, is the director of film photography, known for Life and Days, Heroes (2021) and Ellie (2009) (2009), both Asghar Farhadi.
The Academy selects its members based on professional qualifications and is continuously committed to expression, inclusion and equity. Of the 2025 invitation classes, 41% are women, 45% are in underrated communities, and 55% are from 60 countries and territories outside the US. There are 91 Oscar nominees, including 26 winners, and three scientific and technical winners among the invited recipients.
If all invited members accept, then the total members including Emerity will be 11,120, and the number of voting members will be 10,143. Additionally, 35% of academies become women and 22% are underrated communities, and 21% become international.
Photo: Payman Maadi (L) and Saeed Roustayi posed during a photo call for the film “Women and Children” held at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in France on May 23, 2025.
SS/SAB