Kenyan Filmmaker Sam Soko Invited to Join the Academy

Kenyan documentary filmmaker Sam Soko is among the 534 artists and executives invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 2025 class.

Soko, the co-founder and head of LBx Africa, is known for producing socio-political stories such as Softie (2020), which follows Boniface Mwangi’s political pursuit and the toll it takes on his family; South Sudan’s No Simple Way Home (2022), which follows Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior – John Garang’s widow – and her daughters’ return from exile and their struggle to reconcile family and country; and Free Money (2022) which documents a social experiment that provides residents of a Kenyan village a universal basic income for 12 years.

Invited in the Documentary branch, Soko joins a distinguished list of the 2025 class that includes notable names like Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Fernanda Torres, Ariana Grande, Jodie Comer, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Danielle Deadwyler and Andrew Scott.

African invitees this year also include Nigerian costume designer Bunmi Ademilola Fashina (Mami Wata, Light in the Dark) and composer Ré Olunuga (Iwaju), both from Nigeria; South African actor John Kani (Black Panther), Senegalese director Mamadou Dia (Demba, Nafi’s Father) and Tunisian producer Habib Attia (The Man Who Sold His Skin, Four Daughters).

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

According to the Academy, an invitation doesn’t mean an automatic membership – the individual must accept the invitation. The membership process is also by sponsorship and not by application, meaning Soko had to be sponsored by two Academy members from the Documentary branch to be considered.

If all 2025’s invites are accepted, total members will be up to 11,120 and the number of voting members will be 10,143. It would also make the Academy 35% women, 22% from underrepresented communities and 21% international.

What does it mean to be a member of the Academy? Among other privileges, members vote for Oscar nominees and winners in their respective branches, while all members are also eligible to vote for Best Picture.

Soko becomes the sixth Kenyan to join the Academy, following in the footsteps of Lupita Nyong’o who was invited in the Actor branch 2014, Judy Kibinge in the Documentary branch in 2017, Wanuri Kahiu in the Director branch in 2018, and Toni Kamau in the Documentary Branch and Wanjiru Njendu in the Short Films and Feature Animation branch in 2020.

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