The National Film and
Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts
and Culture, is extending a call to all South African producers to submit their
films for entry into the 93rd Annual Academy Awards (Oscars).
The Academy has opened a call for entry for International Feature Film
Award, inviting South Africans to submit their feature films for
consideration.
The NFVF is officially recognised
by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to make submissions on
behalf of the South African Film industry.
The closing date for submissions
is the 12 October 2020, 16h00. The South African Academy Selection
Committee will choose one film as the country’s official submission for the
International Feature Film Award.
The unprecedented
coronavirus/COVID-19 global pandemic mandated the closure of commercial motion
picture theatres worldwide. Until further notice and for the 93rd Awards year
only, country selected films that had a previously planned theatrical release
but are initially made available through a reputable commercial streaming
distribution service or video on demand may qualify for awards consideration in
the International Feature category for the 93rd Academy Awards under these
provisions:
- Provide (original document(s) of government
mandated theatre/cinema closure dates, previously planned theatrical
release and steaming distribution or video on demand agreements.
- The film be made available on the secure Academy
Screening Room member site within 60 days of the film being officially selected;
- That it meets all other eligibility requirements
When theatres reopen in
accordance with national and local specified guidelines and criteria, and on a
date to be determined by the Academy, this rules exemption will no longer
apply. All films released thereafter will be expected to comply with the
standard International Feature Film category theatrical qualifying
requirements.
Film festival participation does
not qualify a film in the International Feature Film category. Films must
comply with all other eligibility requirements for the 93rd Academy Awards.
To be eligible this year, films
must have been released in the submitting country for a theatrical run of at
least seven consecutive days beginning no earlier than October 1, 2018 and no
later than September 30, 2019.
To be eligible for entry
A. DEFINITION
An international film is defined
as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the
United States of America and its territories with a predominantly (more than
50%) non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are
permitted.
B. ELIGIBILITY
1. The film must be first
released in the country of origin no earlier than October 1, 2019, and no later
than December 31, 2020, and be first publicly exhibited for at least seven
consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theatre for the profit of the
producer and exhibitor.
Submissions must be in 35mm or
70mm film, or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan Digital Cinema format with
a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels, source image format
conforming to ST 428- 1:2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Image
Characteristics; image compression (if used) conforming to ISO/IEC 15444-1
(JPEG 2000); and image and sound files packaged as Digital Cinema Packages
(DCPs) in either “Interop” or “SMPTE DCP” formats. SMPTE DCP refers to SMPTE ST
429-2 and related specifications. Blu-ray format does not meet Digital Cinema
requirements.
The audio in a Digital Cinema
Package (DCP) is typically 5.1 or 7.1 channels of discrete audio. The minimum
for a non-mono configuration of the audio shall be three channels as Left,
Centre, Right (a Left/Right configuration is not acceptable in a theatrical
environment).
The audio data shall be formatted
in conformance with ST 428-2:2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio
Characteristics and ST 428-3:2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio Channel
Mapping and Channel Labelling.
2. The film must be advertised
and exploited during its qualifying theatrical release in a manner considered
normal and customary to theatrical feature distribution practices. The film
need not have been released in the United States.
3. Films that, in any version,
receive a nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution before their first
qualifying theatrical release will not be eligible for Academy Awards
consideration. Nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution includes but is
not limited to:
• Broadcast and cable television
• PPV/VOD
• DVD distribution
• Inflight airline distribution
• Internet transmission
4. The recording of the original
dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more
than 50%) in a language or languages other than English. ACCURATE,
LEGIBLE ENGLISHLANGUAGE SUBTITLES ARE REQUIRED.
5. The submitting country must
certify that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens
or residents of that country.
6. The International Feature Film
Award Executive Committee shall resolve all questions of eligibility and rules.
C. SUBMISSION
1. Each country shall be invited
to submit its best film to the Academy. Selection of that film shall be made by
one approved organization, jury or committee that should include artists and/or
craftspeople from the field of motion pictures.
2. Only one film will be
accepted from each country as the official selection. Films can be
submitted to the Academy as soon as they are selected.
3. The following submission
materials must be submitted to the National Film and Video Foundation, 87
Central Street, Houghton 2198. 12 October 2020, 16h00.
- One 35mm or 70mm film prints or DCPs with accurate,
legible English-language subtitles. The print or DCP submitted for Awards
consideration must be identical in content and length to the print or DCP
used in the film’s qualifying theatrical release.
- DIGITALMEDIA CONTENT DELIVERY
- 50 DVDs of the entry, without trailers or other
extraneous material, capable of playing on Region 0/NTSC standard
definition DVD players. DVDs must be in individual paper sleeves and must
include the film title, running time and country only. No artwork,
promotional material, contact information, company name or film logo is
acceptable on the DVD labels or sleeves
- Full cast and credits list
- Director’s biography, filmography and photograph
- 3 to 5 representative film stills, including a
designated key frame
- A poster from the film’s theatrical release
- Proof of advertising for the film’s qualifying
theatrical release
Film prints, DCPS and DVDs
submitted will be retained by the Academy throughout the voting process and are
not available for loan. By submitting a film, the filmmaker agrees that the
Academy has the right to make copies and distribute them for voting purposes
only. The Academy will retain for its archives one print of every motion
picture receiving a nomination for the International Feature Film award.
Additional prints of those films receiving nominations will be returned to the
sender at the Academy’s expense.
D. VOTING
1. International Feature Film
nominations will be determined in three phases:
- Phase 1 the South African International Feature Film Committee will view the eligible submissions in the category and vote by secret ballot over a number of days (determined by the number of submissions received). The group’s top vote will be chosen as South Africa’s official submission for the category.
Once approved, South Africa’s
official selection will be submitted to the Academy.
International Feature Film
nominations will be determined in two rounds of voting:
- Phase 2 The International Feature Film
Preliminary Committee will view the eligible submissions in the category
and vote by secret ballot. The group’s top seven choices, augmented by
three additional selections voted by the Academy’s International Feature
Film Executive Committee, will constitute the shortlist of ten films.
- Phase 3 The International Feature Film
Nominating Committee must view the ten shortlisted films and vote by
secret ballot to determine the category’s five nominees.
2. Final voting for the
International Feature Film award shall be restricted to active and life Academy
members who have viewed all five nominated films.
3. The Academy statuette (Oscar)
will be awarded to the film and accepted by the director on behalf of the
creative talents. For Academy Awards purposes, the country will be credited as
the nominee. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after
the country and film title.
E. ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY
RESTRICTIONS
1. In addition to complying with
the Awards Rules for the 93rd Oscars, all participants in the Awards
competition are also bound by the Academy Campaign Regulations concerning the
promotion of eligible films and are subject to the penalties provided therein,
including the potential declaration of ineligibility by the Board of Governors
for violation of those guidelines. The Regulations can be found at
Oscars.org/regulations.
F. ELIGIBILITY IN OTHER
CATEGORIES
1. International Feature Film
submissions may submit for consideration for the 93rd Academy Awards in other
categories, including Best Picture, provided they comply with the rules governing
those categories.
2. Films submitted for
consideration in the International Feature Film category for the 93rd Academy
Awards are NOT eligible for consideration in other awards categories in the
subsequent year, 94th Academy Awards (2021).
Eligible films should be sent no
later than 12 October 2020, 16h00 for attention:
The South African Academy Awards
Selection Committee c/o Stacey Lefine
National Film and Video
Foundation
87 Central Street
Houghton
2198
