New rules at Oscars gives India a chance

Traditionally, this category restricted countries to one submission per year, with specific rules

MUMBAI/LOS ANGELES: On May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduced a series of revisions to its existing rules. Ahead of the 99th Oscars in 2027, the regulations mandate that actors can be nominated for more than one performance in the same category, and the website states the consideration will depend on portrayals that are “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” and not artificially engineered. A more significant shift has been in the International Feature Film category with the expansion of the eligibility criteria. The new directive makes space for multiple submissions from the same country.

Payal Kapadia and the cast of All We Imagine as Light with the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024. Despite global acclaim, the film missed India’s Oscars entry after the Film Federation of India chose another title, something the Academy’s new rules seek to address by expanding eligibility beyond a single national submission. (AFP)

Traditionally, this category restricted countries to one submission per year, with specific rules. In order to be considered, a non-English language film must have a theatrical release for seven consecutive days in the country of its origin and be chosen by an organisation, jury or committee approved by the Academy. The recent amendments widen the scope by including films that win top awards at major film festivals like the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award – Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d’Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion).

This comes in the aftermath of crucial omissions of festival winners in the category and the subsequent public outcry. In 2024, France submitted Tran Anh Hung’s The Taste of Things over Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. The next year, India selected Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies as its official entry over Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024. Under the new rules, both Rao and Kapadia’s films would be eligible for consideration.

In India, the amendment feels like a much-needed intervention. In the past, the selection process by the Film Federation of India (FFI), the non-governmental body comprising producers, distributors, exhibitors and studio owners and in charge of selecting the official entry to the Academy since 1951, has been dense and mired in controversies. Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light made waves in the global circuit and was the first Indian title to compete at the Cannes Film Festival in three decades. But FFI president Ravi Kottarakara reasoned that the film did not feel Indian enough. “The jury said that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India,” Kottarakara had told The Hollywood Reporter India.

Citing the exclusion of Kapadia’s film as an example, filmmaker Rohan Kanawade regards the modifications as a timely mediation. “Sometimes, films that have done well at international platforms and are recognised by the world are not appreciated in India. The juries have their own thought process and often, films with global acclaim do not get the chance to compete. This new rule will change that.” Kanawade’s debut Marathi film Sabar Bonda was the recipient of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2025 but was not selected as India’s official entry.

In the last couple of years, documentaries and feature films from the country have dominated major international film festivals. Sen, Kapadia and Kanawade belong to the generation of filmmakers whose work, and their subsequent wins at festivals, have cultivated curiosity about India’s film culture on a global scale. This enhances the prospect of a more robust participation in the International Feature Film category, but the chances are still not bullish.

“There is no doubt that the new rules are more democratic, but how many films from India have won the biggest prize at the mentioned festivals? This is setting the bar too high and yet, in real terms, only six more films are now allowed to be eligible,” Meenakshi Shedde, senior programme advisor, South Asia, Toronto International Film Festival, asks.

Shedde, who has formerly served as a festival programmer at Berlin, Locarno and Busan, insists that a more effective approach to improving India’s chances at the Oscars would be to look at the selection process in the country more closely. “The idea is not to select the best film in India but the best Indian film for the Oscars. It is a serious responsibility if one wants to do it seriously. This is the real bottleneck and the only thing in our control.”