Big change in Oscar Awards rules: Indian films will no longer fall prey to politics, top films in prestigious festivals will be able to enter directly

The rules of the most prestigious Oscar awards in the film industry have been changed drastically. For the 2027 Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has changed the rules for the international feature film category, which could have an impact on countries like India, where controversies have been brewing over Oscar entries every year. After the new rules, the official entry of a country will no longer be the only way to reach the Oscars. As per the new guidelines of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, if a film wins the top award at international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Sundance or Busan, it can directly qualify for the International Feature category of the Oscars. That is, the film will not need to be the official entry of its country. An example of this change can be understood in Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia's film 'All We Imagine as Light'. According to the report, if these rules had been implemented earlier, the film could have entered the Oscar race without becoming an official entry in India. The Film Federation of India (FFI) is responsible for selecting a film for the Oscars in India, but questions have been raised about its selection process for many years. In 2013, there was a controversy over Irrfan Khan's film 'The Lunch Box'. Despite the acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, it was not selected as India's official entry. It was replaced by 'The Good Road'. At that time, many including filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had criticised the selection process. Under the new guidelines, the credit of the International Feature Award will now be given to the director of the film instead of the country. At the same time, the chances of more than one film from one country reaching the Oscar race have increased. Film industry experts are seeing this as an opportunity for Indian cinema, as now internationally acclaimed films can get relief from the politics of domestic selection.