The Oscars announced late Tuesday night sweeping new representation and inclusion standards for films to be eligible for Best Picture, and already they’re being misconstrued or misrepresented. The Academy has put a focus on diversifying the makeup of its membership and the films that are nominated over the past few years, and these new requirements – which won’t take full effect until 2024 – mark a substantial step forward.
But how do they work? What does a film now need to qualify for the Best Picture category? We’re here to break down exactly what the requirements are, but first a few notes:
The Standards
As stated above, starting in 2024 a film must meet two of the four standards to qualify for Best Picture. The standards are as follows:
STANDARD A: ON-SCREEN REPRESENTATION, THEMES AND NARRATIVES
To achieve Standard A, the film must meet ONE of the following criteria:
A1. Lead or significant supporting actors
At least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
A2. General ensemble cast
At least 30% of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from at least two of the following underrepresented groups:
A3. Main storyline/subject matter
The main storyline(s), theme or narrative of the film is centered on an underrepresented group(s).
STANDARD B: CREATIVE LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT TEAM
To achieve Standard B, the film must meet ONE of the criteria below:
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, VFX Supervisor, Writer—are from the following underrepresented groups:
At least one of those positions must belong to the following underrepresented racial or ethnic group:
B2. Other key roles
At least six other crew/team and technical positions (excluding Production Assistants) are from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. These positions include but are not limited to First AD, Gaffer, Script Supervisor, etc.
B3. Overall crew composition
At least 30% of the film’s crew is from the following underrepresented groups:
STANDARD C: INDUSTRY ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES
To achieve Standard C, the film must meet BOTH criteria below:
C1. Paid apprenticeship and internship opportunities
The film’s distribution or financing company has paid apprenticeships or internships that are from the following underrepresented groups and satisfy the criteria below:
The major studios/distributors are required to have substantive, ongoing paid apprenticeships/internships inclusive of underrepresented groups (must also include racial or ethnic groups) in most of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.
The mini-major or independent studios/distributors must have a minimum of two apprentices/interns from the above underrepresented groups (at least one from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group) in at least one of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.
C2. Training opportunities and skills development (crew)
The film’s production, distribution and/or financing company offers training and/or work opportunities for below-the-line skill development to people from the following underrepresented groups:
STANDARD D: AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
To achieve Standard D, the film must meet the criterion below:
D1. Representation in marketing, publicity, and distribution
The studio and/or film company has multiple in-house senior executives from among the following underrepresented groups (must include individuals from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups) on their marketing, publicity, and/or distribution teams.
Academy Aperture 2025is the next phase of the Academy’s equity and inclusion initiative furthering the organization’s ongoing efforts to advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community.
Are the Standards Too Strict or Too Lax?
Well it depends on who you ask, obviously. And keep in mind we’re still years away from them taking “full effect” and they can and probably will make further adjustments. But a cursory glance at the last 10 Best Picture winners shows that all of those films likely still would have made the cut with these eligibility requirements. Films likeParasiteandGreen BookandThe Shape of Watermeet them pretty easily, as doMoonlightand12 Years a Slave.
EvenSpotlight, which has a predominantly white cast, would have met Standard B (cinematographerMasanobu Takayanagiis Japanese and the film had multiple female department heads) and likely would have met Standard D.
Honestly the films that are going to have a bit of a tougher time qualifying could be independent films. I would assume that most studios either already have or are about to have apprenticeship and internship opportunities that meet Standard C, and most of the marketing departments of the major studios are pretty diverse. Meeting those two standards will get a lot of films in automatically, but indies – without the budget to create said programs or have big marketing departments – may find themselves trying to hit Standard A or Standard B.
There’s also, asMark Harris pointed out on Twitter,the legality of asking someone about their sexuality in a job interview, and I don’t even want to begin to think about the dirty tricks certain campaigns will play to either skirt by on eligibility or try to out some rival film as breaking the rules.
Ultimately, though, I do feel this is a step in the right direction. This could see a real boon in opportunity for underrepresented people in the industry. Indeed,Ava DuVernayhas led by example on this issue as she made it a point to hire female POC directors for her TV shows so they’d have experience that would get them in more doors. Experience leads to opportunity, but for many opportunity doesn’t exist if they’re not given the chance to have that experience.
As we saw with the ill-advised “Popular Film” Oscar category that came and went, these kinds of announcements are certainly open to further tweaks and changes. I imagine that will be the case here, so I wouldn’t assume this list of standards is perfect or immovable. Expect more tweaks over the next year or so as studios now start planning ahead to make sure their big Oscar contenders meet the Academy’s diversity and inclusion eligibility.
But first, we’ve gotta get through this current unique Oscar season with its own eccentricities. More on that in the coming months…
