The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the gradual introduction of new "representation and inclusion" requirements for films that are nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.

The corresponding statement was published on the official website of the organization.

The introduction of additional criteria became part of the Academy Aperture 2025 initiative. Over the next five years, the Academy intends to develop a new set of measures that would more fully reflect the contribution of individual groups to the development of cinema.

The main goal of the innovations is "to promote balanced presentation on and off the screen to better match the diversity of film audiences."

The new requirements have been developed under the guidance of Academy Board members Devon Franklin and Jim Janopoulos.

They relied on the developments of the British Film Institute and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

The new standards pay particular attention to ethnic and racial minorities.

The board of the academy also expects to increase the inclusiveness of cinematography by attracting more people from “underrepresented groups”: women, LGBT people and people with cognitive or physical disabilities.

  • Shot from the movie "Call me by your name"

  • © Still from the movie "Call me by your name" (2017)

If filmmakers intend to nominate their film for an Oscar, they will have to consider a number of new requirements at the planning stage, which are combined into four standards.

The picture-applicant for the award must match at least two of them.

According to the first standard of representativity on the screen, one of the main (or significant secondary) roles should be played by a representative of an ethnic minority.

If this is not possible, 30% of supporting roles should be assigned to individuals from two “underrepresented groups”.

Films in which minorities are at the center of the plot also meet the standard.

The second standard of representativity, regarding creative project management, implies that women, LGBT people, persons with disabilities or people from different ethnic groups will occupy at least two key positions in the production of the painting.

These positions include director, casting director, composer, cameraman, editor, make-up artist, costume designer, producer, screenwriter, special effects supervisor and others.

One of these positions must necessarily be occupied by a representative of a racial minority.

Also, this standard is considered met if six significant places in the film crew (assistant director, script supervisor, lighting, etc.) are reserved for representatives of minorities, or if representatives of the LGBT community, people of different races and persons with disabilities are not less than 30% of the team.

The third standard requires film studios and distribution companies to provide people from underrepresented groups with paid internships or internships in various areas of production at virtually all stages of film production - from development and post-production to marketing communication.

At the same time, minorities should be provided with training and employment opportunities.

Finally, the fourth standard assigns multiple leadership positions to underrepresented groups in full-time advertising, public relations and content distribution divisions.

“The lenses of movie cameras should look wider to reflect the diversity of the world's population - both at the stage of making films and when viewed by viewers.

The Academy strives to make a significant contribution to making this a reality.

We believe these standards will catalyze long-term, major changes in our industry, ”said Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson.

It should be noted that in the coming years the requirements will not be toughened.

For 2023 inclusive, filmmakers will have to fill out a special form with information about the inclusiveness of the film.

The new criteria will become mandatory by the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.

  • Reuters

  • © Mike Blake

The message specifically emphasizes that for films that do not claim the main award, the rules remain the same.

Nevertheless, the academy will consider separately the criteria for individual categories - full-length cartoons, documentaries and films in foreign languages.

In August, the management of the Berlin Film Festival also announced changes in the regulations.

The organizers of the show have abandoned the division of awards for actors by gender.

Instead of separate prizes for actors and actresses, there is now one Silver Bear for the main and secondary roles.

The initiative was supported by Australian artist Cate Blanchett, who heads the jury at the Venice Film Festival this year.

She noted that she prefers to be called an actor, since the very word "actress" sounds dismissive.