Spike Lee, Pedro Almodovar turn curator for Academy Museum exhibition

After a period of eight long years, a host of filmmakers including Pedro Almodovar and Spike Lee have joined together to curate exhibits for Academy Museum. It will be reportedly open for the citizens from December 14 onwards.

Washington: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that Spike Lee, Pedro Almodovar and other filmmakers will collaborate on exhibitions for the upcoming Academy Museum. After a long period of eight years, since the project was first announced, the Academy Museum will now be open to the public on December 14, according to a news portal.

The composer of Joker, Hildur Gudnadottir, the first woman ever to win the Best Original Score Academy Award, will also collaborate on new exhibits for the museum. Meanwhile, Ben Burtt, veteran sound designer on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, has also lined to help curate exhibits.

Bill Kramer, director of the Academy Museum, announced the details of the new collaborations on Saturday. A news portal quoted Bill Kramer as saying: "We will open the Academy Museum with exhibitions and programs that will illuminate the complex and fascinating world of cinema - its art, technology, artists, history, and social impact - through a variety of diverse and engaging voices."

"We will tell complete stories of moviemaking - celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical and uncomfortable. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy, these first exhibitions will establish this museum as incomparable in the world of cinema," said Kramer.

He also acknowledged that the announcement was made at a time when most museums, movie theatres, and other institutions are currently shut due to coronavirus crisis.

"We are keenly aware that we're working towards the opening of the Academy Museum during a time of great challenge. Over the past century, motion pictures have reflected and impacted major historical issues and events. The stories we tell in the Academy Museum are part of those bigger stories, and we are committed to highlighting the social impact of motion pictures. We look forward to brighter days for everyone, everywhere," he added.

The six-level museum will be located at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Exhibits will tell the stories of the film industry from around the world and also present the arts and sciences that go into moviemaking.

Many of the planned galleries will be focused on films like Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix and films by Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli.

With inputs from ANI.