The Academy board has ruled that starting this season, films not in the English language that win top awards at qualifying international festivals including Cannes, Venice, and Sundance will qualify for the international feature film Oscar.
The rule tweak for the upcoming 99th Academy Awards on March 14 2027 appear to be an acknowledgement by the board that geopolitics has in prior years made it difficult for certain filmmakers to get the official sanction of their country in the form of a submission. Screen understands the Academy is keen to support filmmakers around the world and ensure global cinema is accessible to a wide audience.
Official submissions that have win the approval of a country’s selection committee will still be eligible, however now winners of the Cannes Palme d’Or, Venice Golden Lion, Berlin Golden Bear, Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Busan Best Film Award, and Toronto Platform Award will be eligible through these six qualifying festivals.
In addition a film will be credited as the nominee rather than the country or region, and the award will be presented to the director on behalf of the creative team. The statuette will bear the director’s name after the film title and, if applicable, the country or region.
In other rulings announced on Friday morning that took aim at AI, only acting roles “credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible”. Contenders in the acting category may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category “if those performances place in the top five votes” the Academy said, noting this aligns with achievements in other categories.
Under Eligibility (Rule Two) that addresses Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Academy will have the right to request further information about the nature of the use of the technology and human authorship.
In other category changes:
Casting: the number of statuettes awarded will increase from a maximum of two to a maximum of three.
Cinematography: preliminary voting will result in a shortlist of 20 films rather than 10-20.
Makeup and Hairstyling: branch members must attend at least one of the two final branch meetings (round tables) to be eligible to vote in the preliminary round.
Original Song: regarding a song’s eligibility when based on its placement in the end credits. “For songs submitted as the first new music cue once the end credits begin, the video clip must include the last 15 seconds of the film before the credits begin.”
Visual Effects: all Academy members must view the three-minute “Before and After” reels from the Visual Effects Bake-Off to be eligible to vote in the final round.
Writing: screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.
Governors Awards recipients: a minimum of three disciplines must be represented in a given Awards year.
Substantive changes to the campaign promotional regulations include:
- · Screenings with Q&A sessions or panel discussions prior to nominations may now have up to two moderators instead of one.
- · All eblasts and FYC calendar entries sent to Academy members via an Academy-approved mailing house from a film company, individual associated with an eligible film or qualifying film festival must include an email address or phone number contact for inquiries regarding how members may request accessibility and disability needs or if the venue hosting the screening has proper accommodations.
The Academy provided key timetable updates. For consideration, a film must receive a qualifying theatrical release between January 1 2026 and December 31 2026.
August 13, 2026: First submission deadline for animated short film, documentary feature film, documentary short film and live action short film categories
September 17, 2026: First submission deadline for general entry categories, animated feature film, best picture and representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form
September 30, 2026: Submission deadline for international feature film
October 8, 2026: Final submission deadline for animated short film, documentary short film and live action short film categories
October 14, 2026: Submission deadline for music (original song)
October 15, 2026: Final submission deadline for documentary feature film
November 4, 2026: Submission deadline for music (original score)
November 12, 2026: Final submission deadline for general entry categories, animated feature film, best picture and representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form
January 8 – 10, 2027: casting, makeup and hairstyling, sound and visual effects voting events (bake-offs).
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