As the Oscar season commences, the Academy has made a change that is sure to alter the landscape of the Oscars going forward. On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that films must meet certain criteria in terms of representation in order to be eligible for the Academy Award for Best Picture beginning in 2024.
Introduced under an initiative called Aperture 2025, the organization said the goal was to “encourage equitable representation on and off-screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience.”
Films must meet at least two of four benchmarks. They include:
Featuring actors from underrepresented groups in significant roles or accounting for at least 30% of the cast.
Similar criteria in terms of those working on the film behind the scenes.
A significant commitment to paid apprenticeships, internships, and career development.
A significant representation among the teams devoted to marketing, publicity, and distribution.
During the Oscar campaigns in 2022 and 2023, films in contention will have to submit a confidential “inclusion standards” form, but that won’t prevent eligibility until the 96th Academy Awards.
The latest announcement follows a concerted push by the Academy to expand its membership ranks, admitting more women and people of color. In June, an additional 819 new members were invited into the group, 45% of them women and 36% of people of color.
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David Gonzalez is the founder and chief film critic of Reel Talk Inc. and host of the Reel Chronicles and Chop Talk (80s horror) podcasts. As a Cuban American independent film critic, David writes fair and diverse criticism covering movies of all genres and spotlighting minority voices through Reel Talk. David has covered and reviewed films at Tribeca, TIFF, NYFF, Sundance, SXSW, and several other film festivals.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-Approved Critic and a member of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA), New York Film Critics Online, Hollywood Film Critics Association, and the North American Film Critic Association.
As an avid film collector and awards watcher, David's finger is always on the industry's pulse. David informs and educates with knowledgeable and exciting content and has become a trusted resource for readers and listeners alike. Email him at david@reeltalkinc.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @reeltalkinc.
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