by Cláudio Alves
Will the new rules booster Parasite's Oscar chances?
As we get closer to the peak of Awards Season, the Academy has been divulging new rules and approaches to their voting process. Most of the changes have to do with online accessibility to screeners, making it easier for the voters to have seen the films before sending in their ballots. One of the categories most affected by these changes is that of the recently renamed Best International Feature Oscar.
For one, the shortlist, which will be announced on December 16th, has been expanded from 9 to 10 films. Voters who want to help delineate this selection will have to watch at least 15 of the record-breaking 93 submitted features. Seven finalists will be selected by these voters, while the other three will be “saved” by a special committee.
That’s hardly different from the previous process. The relatively big change happens after the shortlist has been decided…
Pain & Glory might become the third Almodóvar film with a nomination in the category.
Every member of the Academy will be able to vote on the nomination round. Before, only a select group, divided between Los Angeles, New York and London could vote on the nominations for this award. After several infamous anonymous Oscar ballots, it’s clear many voters never watch the movies and we were a bit afraid that a more democratic approach could spread this horror to the Best International Feature Oscar.
However, the new rules specify one important requirement – anyone can vote as long as they have watched the 10 shortlisted films. With this, at least the nominations are saved from the uninformed decisions of that type of unfortunate Academy member while the diversity of opinion is improved. Hopefully, such changes will result in a more thoughtful slew of nominations and the recognition of films that might have been ignored otherwise.
All in all, these seem like positive changes. With their implementation and the quality of many of the big contenders, there’s hope that we'll have one of the best lineups ever in Best International Feature come January 13th.