• Malayalam movie ‘2018-Everyone is a Hero’, directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, is India’s official entry to the Academy Awards 2024, the Film Federation of India announced on September 27.

• The film revolves around the 2018 floods that wreaked havoc in Kerala. The cast of this blockbuster includes Tovino Thomas, Kunchako Boban, Asif Ali, Tanvi Ram and Aparna Balamurali.

• Girish Kasaravalli, noted filmmaker and chairman of the selection committee announced that the Malayalam movie has been picked for its very relevant theme on climate change and the travails of people vis-a-vis what has been understood as development in the society. 

• As many as 22 films including ‘The Kerala Story’ (Hindi), ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani’,  ‘Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway’ (Hindi), ‘Balagam’ (Telugu), ‘Vaalvi’ (Marathi), ‘Baaplyok’ (Marathi), ‘August 16, 1947’ (Tamil) were considered before picking the Malayalam film.

• Last year, Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ (Last Film Show) directed by Pan Nalin was India’s official entry for the 95th Academy Awards. It did not make it to the final nominations. 

• The last Indian film that made it to the final five was the Aamir Khan-led ‘Lagaan’ in 2001.

• ‘Mother India’ (1958) and ‘Salaam Bombay!’ (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five.

• The 96th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on March 10, 2023 in Los Angeles.

How India picks its official entry?

Film Federation of India is authorised to select one film for the consideration of Oscar award in the category of International Feature Film Award (formerly called Best Foreign Language Film Award). 

Entries are invited and a jury selects one film as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards.

Nomination process for International Feature Film Award

• An international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the USA and its territories with a predominantly (more than 50 per cent) non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are permitted.

• The country-selected film must be first released in the country of origin no earlier than December 1, 2022, and no later than October 31, 2023, and be first publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater for the profit of the producer and exhibitor.

• Each country shall be invited to submit its best film to the Academy. 

• Selection of that film shall be made by one approved organisation, jury or committee, of which at least 50 per cent must include artists and/or craftspeople from the field of motion pictures.

• Only one film will be accepted from each country as the official selection. 

How will the voting process be?

International Feature Film nominations will be determined in two rounds of voting:

i) All active and life Academy members will be invited to view the eligible submissions in the category. Those who opt in will be required to see a minimum number of submitted eligible films as defined by the current procedures. Members will vote by secret ballot in the order of their preference for not more than fifteen motion pictures. The 15 movies receiving the highest number of votes shall advance to next round of voting.

ii) All active and life Academy members will be invited to view the 15 shortlisted films in the category. A member must see all shortlisted films for the ballot to be counted. Members shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five movies. The five movies receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the International Feature Film award.

Final voting for the International Feature Film award shall be restricted to active and life Academy members who have viewed all five nominated films.

The Academy statuette (Oscar) will be awarded to the film and accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s 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.

Academy members

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global organisation, representing the best of an international art form, and has members in countries all over the world. Academy membership is limited to film artists working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures. The Academy has 18 branches, for the crafts ranging from Actors to Writers, and the Members-at-Large category, to accommodate individuals who work in motion picture production but do not fit into one of the branches.

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