Films that are streamed may continue to enjoy success at the Academy Awards after the Oscars committee decided against a rule change that would’ve seen a tighter submission process. This included petitions from big names in Hollywood supporting the rule change, such as Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has said previously that films that have only been given a short cinematic release should not be eligible for nomination.
This controversy has arisen after Netflix’s Roma enjoyed success in three categories at the Oscars this year. Netflix has stated that it should be an easier mode of watching content for people who can’t get to the cinema to see films.
At the Oscars meeting on Tuesday, the Academy decided that movies will remain eligible if they are released in at least one Los Angeles cinema for at least a week before or at the same time as they are made available to stream.
Another decision that the Academy made was to change the title of the foreign language film category to international feature film. The name change does not change elibility rules that say the film should be made outside the US with mainly non-English dialogue.
Click on the link below to watch Alfonso Cuaron, director of Roma, accept the Academy award for best foreign film:
