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Having diversified its membership in recent years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now turning its attention to the awards themselves.
As part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative, the Academy on Tuesday announced new standards for measuring best picture contenders. Films competing for the top prize in 2024 will need to meet the requirements in two of the four introduced standards.
“The Academy forced Hollywood’s hand today,” Clayton Davis, Variety’s film awards editor, said Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” “We’ve been talking about this for decades, about representation within cinema, both in front of the camera [and] behind the camera.”
Categories other than the best image need only meet current eligibility requirements going forward. Films in specialized categories (such as animated feature film, documentary feature film, and international feature film) that are also submitted for Best Picture consideration will be addressed separately.
A good example of this would be the winner of the best international film and feature film of 2020, “Parasite”.
While full implementation is still a few years away, best image submissions will need to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form for the 94th and 95th Oscars, which will take place in 2022 and 2023. That said, those films will not be required to meet the inclusion thresholds at that time.
No further changes have been added to the postponed 2021 ceremony, which is rescheduled from February 28 to April 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The opening should be expanded to reflect our diverse global population in both the making of movies and the audiences that connect with them,” said David Rubin, Academy President and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, in a press release. .
“The Academy is committed to playing a vital role in helping make this a reality,” they added. “We believe that these inclusion standards will be a catalyst for essential and lasting change in our industry.”
See below for the new standards:
STANDARD A: SCREEN REPRESENTATION, THEMES AND NARRATIVES
To achieve Standard A, the film must meet ONE of the following criteria:
A1. Important main or supporting actors
At least one of the major actors or minor actors belongs to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
• Asian
• Hispanic / Latinx
• Black / African American
• Indian / Native American / Alaska Native
• Middle East / North Africa
• Native to Hawaii or another Pacific island
• Another underrepresented race or ethnicity
A2. Distribution of the general set
At least 30% of all actors in supporting and minor roles belong to at least two of the following underrepresented groups:
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
A3. Main story / theme
The main plot (s), theme or narrative of the film focuses on an underrepresented group (s).
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD B: CREATIVE LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT TEAM
To achieve Standard B, the film must meet ONE of the following criteria:
B1. Creative leadership and department heads
At least two of the following creative leadership positions and department heads (casting director, cinematographer, composer, costume designer, director, editor, hairstylist, makeup artist, producer, production designer, set decorator, sound, supervisor Visual Effects, Writer) are from the following underrepresented groups:
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
At least one of those positions must be from the following underrepresented racial or ethnic group:
• Asian
• Hispanic / Latinx
• Black / African American
• Indian / Native American / Alaska Native
• Middle East / North Africa
• Native to Hawaii or another Pacific island
• Another underrepresented race or ethnicity
B2. Other key roles
At least six other crew / crew and technical positions (excluding production assistants) belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. These positions include but are not limited to First AD, Gaffer, Script Supervisor, etc.
B3. General composition of the crew
At least 30% of the film’s crew belong to the following underrepresented groups:
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD C: ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO THE INDUSTRY
To achieve Standard C, the film must meet BOTH criteria below:
C1. Paid apprenticeship and internship opportunities
The film’s financial or distribution company has paid apprenticeships or internships that belong to the following underrepresented groups and meet the following criteria:
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
Major studios / distributors are required to have ongoing paid internships / internships that include underrepresented groups (must also include racial / ethnic groups) in most of the following departments: production / development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions , business, distribution, marketing and advertising.
Lead or independent mini-studios / distributors must have a minimum of two apprentices / interns from the underrepresented groups listed above (at least one from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group) in at least one of the following departments: production / development, production physics, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business, distribution, marketing and advertising.
C2. Training and skills development opportunities (crew)
The film’s production, distribution and / or financing company offers training and / or job opportunities for the development of skills below the line to individuals from the following underrepresented groups:
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD D: AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
To achieve Standard D, the film must meet the following criteria:
D1. Representation in marketing, advertising and distribution
The studio and / or motion picture company has several internal senior executives from the following underrepresented groups (must include people from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups) on its marketing, advertising and / or distribution teams.
• Woman
• Racial or ethnic group:
– Asian
– Hispanic / Latinx
– Black / African American
– Indian / Native American / Alaska Native
– Middle East / North Africa
– Native to Hawaii or another Pacific island
– Another underrepresented race or ethnicity
• LGBTQ +
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
