Oscar campaigning will have to be done a little differently from now on, thanks to rule updates announced Tuesday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which also opened the door for more competition among documentary films.
The change in the documentary feature category will be a major benefit to streaming services such as Netflix, which has gained notoriety for producing documentary features that often could not qualify for Oscar consideration since they were not shown in theaters.
Under the new rules, feature-length documentaries can become Oscar eligible if they win a “qualifying award at a competitive film festival … regardless of any prior public exhibition or distribution by non-theatrical means.”
Documentary features that do not win such a film festival award can still become Oscar eligible by appearing in a Los Angeles theater for a week and being reviewed in various New York- or Los Angeles-based publications. The previous rule required a review in the Los Angeles Times or New York Times, but that requirement was expanded to include additional publications.
The Academy also adjusted its Oscar campaign regulations, governing how films can be promoted to voting members. Studios, distributors and filmmakers will now be required “to use an Academy-approved mailing house to send sanctioned awards materials for eligible films to Academy members.” Those mailing houses will be given a list of Academy members who have agreed to receive such materials.
The new rules also limit filmmakers to four post-nominations-announcement question-and-answer screenings. The adjustment eliminates the two additional such screenings that were allowed in the documentary and foreign-language categories.
The Academy also adjusted the nominating process for the original song and original score categories, with contenders being winnowed to a list of 15 finalists in each category. Those lists will then be used to chose the five ultimate nominees.