This was stated by fashion designer Hassan Shehryar Yaseen (HSY) in a message on Twitter. “I am proud to be a part of the Pakistan Oscar Committee 2020,” he said.
Hassan Shehryar said that the committee will be headed by Sharmeen Obaid, a two-time Academy Award winning and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker. The committee also includes actress Mahesh Hayat, film director Asadul Haq and musician Faisal Kapadia.
Humbled and proud to be part of the Oscar committee for 2020.
The committee will be chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and includes Film Director Asad-ul-Haq, Actor Mehwish Hayat and Musician Faisal Kapadia. pic.twitter.com/cZxpigMwZw— Hassan Sheheryar (@HSYCOUTUREKING) October 8, 2020
Actress Mahesh Hayat has also announced that she will be a part of the Oscar selection committee this year. She said in her Twitter message that she has the honor of being a part of the Oscar selection committee for the second time along with Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chanay.
I am looking forward to seeing the nominated films, at least it’s a way for us to showcase the talents of our country and our artists globally,” said medalist actress Mahesh Hayat.
I’m honoured to be part of the ‘Oscar Selection Committee’this year alongside our own two time Oscar winner,Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.I look forward to seeing the nominated films. At least this is one way we can highlight our country & our talent on world stage IA #PakistanZindabad pic.twitter.com/rPiGb3TEZN
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) October 8, 2020
It should be noted that for the Oscar Awards, committees from all over the world, including Pakistan, India, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan, select a film from their respective countries for the foreign language category.
Films selected by the individual country’s Academy Selection Committee are sent to Oscar officials for screening, shortlisting and voting, who then announce the final nominations.
In 2018, the Pakistani committee selected the film Cake for the Oscar award, while in 2019, the film Lal Kabutar was nominated for the award.
Last year, the Pakistani committee included Sharmeen Obaid Chennai, Zeba Bakhtiar, Zarar Khoro, Zeb Al-Nisa Hamid, Sarmad Khost, Asim Abbasi, Rizwan Baig, Jamil Baig, Sanam Saeed and Hamna Zubair.