Bill Kramer Says AMPAS Plans To Expand List Of Festivals That Can Serve As Qualifiers For The International Oscar Category
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences plans to add more festivals whose top-award winners can qualify for the International Film Oscar category. CEO Bill Kramer said the change is part of a broader effort to widen global participation and representation in the category.
Under rules introduced in May, winning films from Berlin, Busan, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and Venice can be submitted automatically, alongside films selected by national committees. The Academy initially chose six festivals because their awards are decided by juries, and is discussing possible additions with festivals worldwide. Kramer also said a quarter of Academy members now live outside the US, and linked the organisation’s increasingly international outlook to its decision to move the Oscars broadcast to YouTube from 2029.
In short
- The Academy plans to add festivals that can qualify films for the International Oscar.
- Six festivals currently offer an automatic route through their top awards.
- A quarter of Academy members live outside the US.
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The case for
Adding more qualifying festivals could make the International Film Oscar more accessible to filmmakers whose countries lack established selection committees or whose work has limited routes to international attention. Including a wider range of juried festivals may also better reflect the category’s global scope and the Academy’s increasingly international membership.
The case against
Expanding the list could make eligibility less consistent if festivals differ in their scale, judging standards or international reach. A carefully limited set of qualifying festivals may help preserve a clear, comparable route into the category, while broader access could be pursued through national committees or other measures.
Explained simply
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, known as the Academy, runs the annual Oscars. Its International Feature Film category recognises films made outside the United States in languages other than English; countries can put forward a film through a national selection process.
Rules introduced in May also allow top-award winners at six named festivals, including Cannes, Berlin and Toronto, to be submitted automatically. The Academy chose festivals where awards are decided by juries, and is discussing whether to include more festivals.
The change forms part of the Academy’s effort to involve more countries and film communities in the category. The organisation says one in four of its members now lives outside the US, reflecting its growing international membership.
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