Majority Directors Receive Two Oscar Nominations

MAJORITY, an LA based production company received two Oscar nominations. 

Two directors from M&C Saatchi backed production company, MAJORITY, have received nominations for the 2020 Oscar Awards.

Siqi Song’s ‘Sister’ is nominated for Best Short Animated Film, whilst ‘Walk Run Cha-Cha’ by Laura Nix has been nominated in the Best Short Documentary category. Both productions will air live on Sunday, February 9th, on ABC.

The nominations for Laura and Siqi are of particular note following the public backlash against the Academy Awards, and other awards bodies, for a lack of racial and gender diversity in their 2020 nominees and winners. 

MAJORITY, led by Peabody Award winning director Senain Kheshgi, is a Los Angeles based production company set up to challenge the lack of female diversity within commercial production, branded spaces and original content. The company launched in January 2018 and announced their all-female roster in August that year.

Senain Kheshgi, co-founder and partner, MAJORITY, said: “The current creative system allows female directors less opportunities than their male counterparts. We saw an opportunity to create a space for women directors to speak directly to consumers through their work and artistry. Women drive the economy through our buying power and influence, yet are only 10% of commercial directors, and that’s why we created MAJORITY. We are extremely proud that Siqi and Laura have managed to break through the barrier and make such an impact with their work.” 

Moray MacLennan, M&C Saatchi Worldwide CEO, commented: "We are very pleased with the news of Laura and Siqi nominations for Academy Awards. There is an obvious and dramatic gender imbalance in the sphere of film and TV commercial production, we are delighted to be doing our bit to address this."