Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth Announced as 2021 Academy Film Scholars
On July 19, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth as the newest Academy film scholars. For the third year in a row, the Academy has chosen two women to be recognized for their ongoing contributions to the film industry.
Since being named an Academy film scholar, Sheppard and Smyth will receive a 25,000 dollar grant for significant projects they have chosen to work on.
🤩 congratulations!
— Guy Harrison, Ph.D. (@ProfGuyHarrison) July 20, 2021
Sheppard has chosen a book project called A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and the Reimagining of Black Women’s Media Histories, which will discuss the void in cinema involving Black women and their traditions. Additionally, Sheppard will use case studies to reimagine Black women’s impact on American cinema in the project.
In response to the achievement, Sheppard told the Academy, “I am thrilled to receive recognition and support from the Academy for this book project, especially as the growing visibility of Black women in front of and behind the camera provides an occasion, if not the imperative, to examine Black women’s cultural production and impact on the past, present, and future media landscape.”
Gonna repost because I’m proud of myself and this project https://t.co/vAhwGfMvj1
— Samantha N. Sheppard (@samshepPhD) July 19, 2021
In a statement, Smyth revealed that she is “honored” and “thrilled” for her biography called Maisie: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Woman to be recognized by the Academy. Now that Smyth has received a grant, she will begin working on a biography about a woman named Mary C. McCall Jr.
congratulations https://t.co/uKTQtVVNyt
— heyunqi (@heyunqi) July 20, 2021
In the 1940s, McCall was the first woman to become president of the Writers Guild of America. Smyth explained, “Today, many people think Golden Age Hollywood was dominated by men. They’ve forgotten Mary C. McCall Jr., the three-time president of the Screen Writers Guild who had the guts to sue Howard Hughes at the height of the blacklist.”
Throughout their careers, Sheppard and Smyth have accomplished a great deal in the form of essays, books, and more. Currently, Sheppard is an associate professor at Cornell University, while Smyth is a professor at the University of Warwick. If you’re interested, you can check out Sheppard and Smyth’s websites to follow their career updates.
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