Photos of the lady who has made Kenyans proud after a huge step in Hollywood

Filmmaker Judy Kibinge has been hand-picked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to join the ranks of voting members.Kibinge, founder of Docubox a Nairobi-based film fund that provides grants and support for African filmmakers, will now join fellow Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o, who joined Hollywood’s most prestigious club after winning an Oscar three years ago.She had just been invited to join the Oscar Academy, which is of course the elite institution that chooses which films to give the gong to for the annual Oscar Academy Awards; which are, of course, the most prestigious film awards in the world.Upon receiving this great news, Ms Kibinge was floored. ‘Whoa!’ she posted on her Facebook page: ‘Blink! Blink! What a list. Honoured!’In an interview with CNN expressed how surprised she was when the learned of the news and described it as “something very special”.“I think it shows the world is really beginning to question the content they watch. They’re beginning to want films and documentaries and features that reflect the diversity in the world,” she added.Kibinge was one of the 774 new members invited to join the Academy’s “Class of 2017” as the organization takes steps to recover from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and diversify its predominantly white, male membership, the CNN reports.Kibinge will be one of the Academy judges for the categories of documentary, international features and animation, the results of which we'll all find out on the much anticipated Oscars night early next year.