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.
