Academy Opens Global Oscars Path, Hints at Tokyo Addition

By Tom Whitfield

Starting with the 99th Academy Awards, a non-English-language film can enter Oscars consideration by winning one of six designated major festival prizes, without first securing its country’s official selection.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer presented that change and a broader global strategy on Wednesday at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. Kramer spoke during a panel in a high-rise in Tokyo’s Hibiya district, alongside Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor and Meredith Shea, the organization’s chief membership, impact and industry officer. Festival director Takeo Hisamatsu moderated.

The backdrop was a United States that may grow more isolationist under President Donald Trump’s “America First” rubric, while the Academy continues to seek international filmmakers and film lovers.

How global is the Academy’s membership?

Kramer said: “The Academy is becoming more and more global across programs.” He linked that trend to a marked increase in the number of Academy members living outside the United States, from 5 percent a decade ago to 25 percent today. The Academy has about 70 Japanese members, and Kramer expects that number to climb.

He described the expansion as part of the Academy’s effort to create a more diverse and inclusive organization. Kramer also said the last Oscars had international representation in every category, not only international feature film but best picture.

He called Parasite’s best-picture victory a pivot in the Academy’s thinking about what global cinema could achieve at the Oscars. Kramer said that shift continues.

The figures show that Academy membership has widened sharply in 10 years.

How does the festival route change the race?

The new pathway supplements, rather than replaces, the established process. Under that system, approved national and regional committees each select one film on behalf of a country. Under the festival route, a winner of a designated prize can enter consideration without securing its country’s official selection.

The six qualifying festivals and prizes are:

• Cannes — Palme d’Or
• Venice — Golden Lion
• Berlin — Golden Bear
• Busan — Busan Award for best film
• Sundance — World Cinema Grand Jury Prize
• Toronto — Platform Award

The new rule adds a second route into the international feature field.

Can Tokyo join the qualifying list?

During the Q&A, audience members asked Kramer twice whether the Tokyo International Film Festival would join the qualifying list. The inclusion of regional rival Busan while Tokyo remained absent landed as hard news with many people involved in the Japanese festival.

Kramer said the Academy was “looking to expand the universe of film festivals that will help a film qualify for the international feature film category.” He added that the process was only beginning. He did not announce Tokyo’s inclusion or provide a timetable, though his answer suggested the festival might not have to wait long.

Tokyo remains outside the qualifying list, but Kramer indicated that the list may expand.

How will YouTube change the ceremony’s reach?

The Academy’s somewhat controversial agreement gives YouTube exclusive global rights to the Oscars from 2029 through 2033, making the ceremony available live and free worldwide after ABC’s final telecast in 2028.

Kramer tied the deal to the Academy’s effort to cultivate deeper ties with filmmakers and film lovers across the globe. He said that in two years the Oscars would be available on YouTube for free to 2.5 billion people around the world in more than 30 languages.

He added that, for the first time, viewers worldwide would have access at the same time and in the same format. He called the move deliberate and aimed at reaching a bigger global audience.

The agreement changes the ceremony’s reach, not the rules governing film eligibility.

What changes in the Oscars race?

The festival system changes entry before nominations: films can now be submitted for international feature consideration through a designated festival prize as well as national selection. The widening membership changes the mix of Academy members whose international perspectives Kramer says already shape nominations. Any Tokyo addition would expand that second route rather than alter the national-committee system.

The YouTube agreement changes distribution rather than the entry rules.

The 99th Awards begin with a broader submission system, while Tokyo remains outside the qualifying list and under discussion.