For the first time in history, the Academy will allow the nomination of films that have not been shown in cinemas, but in streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime, etc.

Criteria for the nominated films were made public today through a press release. The change will not be permanent and will only be used for films released this year.

The selection of Oscar nominees was called into question as isolation and social distancing led to the cancellation of film festivals such as Cannes or South by Southwest and the closure of cinemas.

Previously, a film had to be shown for at least seven days in Los Angeles cinemas to be considered for an Oscar. Now, movies planned to be shown in theaters but uploaded to streaming services are equally selective.

"The academy believes that the magic of movies is experienced by watching them in cinemas. We stand firm in this belief, "said Dawn Hudson, president and CEO of the academy. "However, the tragic pandemic of Covid-19 requires the temporary cancellation of our rules."

Once the cinemas open, everything will return to normal. If cinemas open in the summer, as expected, the Academy will also qualify other cinemas in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Atlanta as certified to screen Oscar-nominated films.

This change has been the subject of debate for a long time, as Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services spend millions on Oscar campaigns for their original films. To meet the conditions of the Academy, Netflix is showing movies in cinemas and on the platform.

The Academy also made some other changes. The categories of sound mixing and sound editing will be merged into one category called greater voice achievement, to emphasize group work.

All members of the Academy will have the right to vote in the first round of international film, a category previously known as the best foreign language film.

Source: The Guardian