Getting to Know the Academy
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I came across this posting by Elston Gunn on Ain’t it Cool News recently and thought it was important to share with all you documentary makers and lovers.
I strongly urge you to . Shockingly, or not shockingly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has declared new guidelines that make it extremely tough for an independent documentary to be considered for an Oscar.
Here are just a few excerpts:
In addition to a seven-day qualifying exhibition where docs have to play for at least seven consecutive days, twice a day, in either New York or Los Angeles, they now must complete a multi-state theatrical rollout of fourteen other markets (!) in at least ten different states (!!) twice a day for at least three consecutive days each.
Furthermore, documentaries filmed digitally must be shot in a particular format and meet certain projection requirements if they want to avoid being blown up to 16mm, 35mm or 70mm.
If the above mentioned requirements aren’t enough, keep in mind these films still must be marketed in a way that is considered “customary” to the industry, and festivals or special screenings do not count toward the qualifying exhibitions.
An Oscar probably doesn’t hold too much prestige for a lot of independent documentary filmmakers. Many times I have been baffled by the decisions of the Academy, and it’s pretty clear that there are politics involved. And I also feel that the Academy has way different taste than mine. Still, of course an Oscar or even a nomination has great benefits for a film. But unfortunately, the Academy has decided to make it very difficult for a documentary to be able to qualify for consideration. It seems that they want to keep accolades and awards to those movies that Hollywood produces. Which makes sense and comes as no great surprise. And this just adds to the many reasons why a filmmaker shouldn’t play into the Hollywood machine. But every filmmaker should know what she is up against.
So read the article, and get to know what mainstream Hollywood thinks of independent documentary. And along these lines, you might also want to check out the eye-opening documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which investigates the ways in which MPAA ratings are conferred.
-Posted by Molly
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| Posted on June 15, 2007
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