Relief for Indian cinema from the changed rules of Oscar: Films that shine in festivals no longer need to become official entries of the country.

For Oscar 2027, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has changed the rules for the International Feature Film category. This may have an impact on countries like India, where there are controversies regarding Oscar entries every year. After the new rules, a country’s official entry will no longer be the only way to reach the Oscars. According to the new guidelines of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, if a film wins the top award at international film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Sundance or Busan, it can directly qualify for the International Feature category of the Oscars. That means that film will not need to become the official entry of its country. An example of this change is being understood from Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s film ‘All We Imagine as Light’. According to the report, if these rules had been implemented earlier, the film could have been included in the Oscar race even without becoming India’s official entry. In India, the responsibility of selecting films for Oscar rests with the Film Federation of India (FFI). But questions have been raised on its selection process for many years. In the year 2013, there was controversy regarding Irrfan Khan’s film ‘The Lunch Box’. Despite receiving praise at the Cannes Film Festival, it was not selected as India’s official entry. ‘The Good Road’ was sent in its place. At that time many people including filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had criticized the selection process. Under the new guidelines, the credit for the International Feature Award will now be given to the director of the film instead of the country. Also, the possibility of more than one film from one country reaching the Oscar race has increased. Film industry experts are considering this as an opportunity for Indian cinema, because now internationally appreciated films can get relief from domestic selection politics.



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