Kramer Highlights Internationalization Efforts While Speaking at Rio Film Fest, Says ‘I’m Still Here’ Furore ‘Increased’ the Academy’s ‘Prestige’
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Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), traveled to Brazil for the first time to speak at the Rio de Janeiro Film Fest alongside Meredith Shea, the Academy’s chief membership, impact and industry officer.
Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here.
The masterclass event marked the exec’s first official visit to the country, which has solidified its stance as major global powerhouse in recent years, crowned with its first Oscar for international feature in Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here.
His excitement about being in the country a few months after Salles’ history-making drama about Brazil’s military dictatorship, a film that also scored nominations for best picture and actress for Fernanda Torres. “Seeing the joy, love and excitement in Brazil and the whole world rooting for Fernanda and Walter only increased our prestige,” he said.
The executive also highlighted the Academy’s internationalization efforts. At present, 20% of the membership, which currently is over 11,000, is from outside the U.S.
There are 200 Latin American members and 60 Brazilian members at present, including Salles, “City of God” director Fernando Meirelles, “Rio” director Carlos Saldanha and Rio Film Festival programme director Ilda Santiago. “We are increasingly global,” added Kramer. “This is one of our main goals and the reason why we are in Rio.”
Kramer also spoke about the internationalization of film production, stating that, “if it becomes harder to make a film in a certain country, you can [move the production] to Lisbon, Hungary, Vancouver, Rio….”
In an interview for Globo, Kramer called the Brazilian furore around “I’m Still Here” was “historic.” “It was exciting to see the growth in our social media channels and the increased audience in Latin America. It was incredible to watch videos of people stopping their Carnival celebrations to watch the awards.”
“We have many new followers from Brazil. When Fernanda attended the Governors Awards, we posted a picture of her and it exploded. It was so much engagement, love, so support and so many comments in Portuguese. We were extremely happy because this is what we look for as organization.”
Brazil is hopeful for a double-bill at the Oscars this year, having recently chosen Kleber Mendonça Filho’s double Cannes winner The Secret Agent, a gripping 1970s thriller,” as its entry for international feature.
At the end of his masterclass, Kramer evoked the famous “Casablanca” quote by saying “this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” between the Rio Film Festival and the Academy.
The Rio de Janeiro Film Festival runs over Oct. 2-12.
