MANILA, Philippines — Every year, cinephiles tune in to the Academy Awards to see who will come away with arguably the top prize in the film industry.
While most pay attention to the Big Five categories — Picture, Director, Lead Actor/Actress, and Screenplays — those from outside the United States keep an eye out for the International Feature Film race.
It is in that category where countries have a chance of tying their name to Oscar glory because of submitted films that represent their culture, creativity, and talent.
Famous winners include South Korea's "Parasite," Taiwan's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Japan's "Rashomon," and Italy's "Life is Beautiful" and "Cinema Paradiso."
In the entire history of the Academy Awards, no film from the Philippines has been nominated or even made the shortlist for the International Feature Film category.
Past Philippine submissions are the likes of "Dekada '70," "Anak," "Heneral Luna," "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros," "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank," "On the Job: The Missing 8," and "Magellan," which arguably came the closest to making the first cut.
FAP backing
The Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) is in charge of selecting the film to represent the Philippines at the Oscars, and as a government agency, it will support the entry through its Pinoy Oscars Pursuit grants program.
The grants will provide the selected sentry with funding for the marketing and promotional efforts it needs to make the 15-film shortlist for international movies.
FAP's program will also assist Filipino films vying for nominations in other Oscar categories, as well as those competing for industry-led honors like the Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards.
New guidelines from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organizers of the Academy Awards, offer countries the chance to have more than one film in contention.
International films not chosen as their country's submission are eligible for consideration if they win the following:
- Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival
- Best Film at the Busan Film Festival
- Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
- World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
- Platform Award at the Toronto Film Festival
- Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
A film that wins any of these awards may still apply for the Pinoy Oscars Pursuit grants program.
Eligibility and selection
A country's official national selection must be chosen by a selection committee approved by AMPAS, which will be formed by FAP.
The chosen film must have run in theaters for seven consecutive days in a venue with paid admission in the country of origin within a given period, often October 1 of one year to September 30 of the next.
Over 50% of the dialogue must be in a language other than English, though Enlish subtitles must be provided, and creative control must rest largely with citizens or residentts of the submitting country.
Any submission initially released on television, streaming, video-on-demand, DVD, or online before its theatrical run will result in disqualification.
Submitted films will be scored on the following:
- Artistic Merit (50%)
- must hold together as a complete work — cinematography, screenplay, sound, direction, etc.
- Cultural Relevance (30%)
- must represent Filipino identity and storytelling
- must feature Philippine locations, to help draw attention as a filming site
- Capacity to Campaign (20%)
- must have support and resources to sustain an international campaign
- this includes access to teams and personnel with experience and expertise to carry the entry throughout the campaign
The latter metric is crucial as entries cannot solely rely on taxpayers' money, which make up the allocated funds. Another key factor is obtaining a North American distributor.
A pre-selection committee will endorse the seven-film shortlist to the FAP's director-general, who will turn over the process to a National Selection Comittee composed of seven independent individuals in the local film industry.
If a member of the National Selection Comittee has any involvement or affiliation to a shortlisted film, they will be replaced by a back-up personality already listed by FAP.
All members of the National Selection Comittee must watch the shortlisted films and six of them will select the official submission via a secret ballot. The remaining member, the chair, will only vote if there is a tie.
Grant breakdown
The selected film as a country's submission will instantly receive P8 million as an incentive for its campaign to be shortlisted at the Oscars.
If the said film premiered at an A-list festival (e.g. Cannes, Berlin, Venice) it will receive another P3 million, plus another P3 million if it wins.
Another P3 million will be given if the selected film wins three main awards from the Cannes, Berlin, or Venice Film Festivals.
If the film has already secured a North American distributor, it will get yet another P3 million.
If the said distributor has been shortlisted for an Oscar before, the film gets another P2 million. If it has been nominated, it earns an extra P3 million. And if it won an Oscar, the film receives P5 million more.
In total, the maximum total possible grant for the Philippines' Oscars submission is P25 million.
As mentioned, the Pinoy Oscars Pursuit grants program is available for films that qualify under the new AMPAS guidelines and for films competing in other categories like shorts, documentaries, as well feature film vying for craft nominations.
Any film that wins Best Picture in an Oscar-qualifying festival will get a P2 million grant. A theatrical run in the United States to qualify for an Oscar equates to another P2 million.
Non-selected film competing for other categories and premiered in an A-list festival will receive P500,000. If it wins in these festivals, it will get an extra P1 million.
If these films secure a North American distributor, they will get another P1 million. Oscar-winning distributors will see the film obtaining another P1 million, meaning the total maximum possible grant is P7.5 million.
If the distributor has been nominated or shortlisted for an Oscar, FAP will provide P800,000 or P500,000, respectively, instead.
All of the above grants are being offered so that films can be shortlisted at the Academy Awards. FAP can request the government for more funding if any film makes a shortlist and is vying for a nomination, and again, if a film obtains a historic nomination.
Unused grant money will go back to the government and will be reallocated in the next annual budget upon request by FAP.