Ava DuVernay and Rita Wilson are seeking election to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors.

The 47-year-old director and the 63-year-old actress are among 153 candidates running for positions on the Film Academy Board in 2020.

In the director's branch, Ava will compete with current governor Kimberley Peirce, who is running again for a new term, Jason Reitman, Reginald Hudlin and Brett Ratner.

And in the actor's branch, Rita is up against incumbent Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Begley Jr, Richard Dreyfuss and brothers Stacy Keach and James Keach.

There has been a change in the voting system this year with the board of governors eliminating the usual 'Final Four' stage and asking members to rank their branch's candidates on a preferential ballot.

Academy CEO Dawn Hudson explained the change in an email to members, explaining: ''Not only will this avoid ties and additional voting, but it will also provide you with more choices and allow you to rank your candidates in order of preference, like the voting method for best picture. This system of voting ensures that the winner has the approval of the most and the broadest range of voters, and helps guarantee that the winning candidates are more fully representative of your branch memberships' voting.''

Voting will take place between June 1 and 5 and the winning candidates will be announced later in the month.