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By Scott Feinberg, Hollywood Reporter
The announcement comes just shy of the fifth anniversary of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
"To encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience," films will have to meet minimum requirements pertaining to representation and inclusion to be eligible for the best picture Oscar beginning with the 96th Oscar race (which will recognize achievements from 2024 and be held in 2025), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.
In the meantime, an Academy Inclusion Standards form will have to be submitted to the Academy for a film to be considered for the 94th Oscars (recognizing films from 2021 released after Feb. 28) and 95th Oscars (recognizing films from 2021), although meeting inclusion thresholds will not yet be a requirement. And no action will be required for films wishing to compete for the 93rd Oscars, which are to be held on April 25.
The new requirements — which were announced just shy of the five-year anniversary of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, and three months after the Academy announced its Academy Aperture 25 initiative — were determined by a task force headed by Academy governors DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos and were modeled after a template inspired by the British Film Institute (BFI) Diversity Standards, which are used to determine certain funding eligibility in the UK and eligibility in some categories of the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Awards. Read more >>