Every year, cinephiles around the globe monitor the Academy Awards, but the elusive dream of an Oscar nomination remains a persistent hurdle that the local film industry must cope up with. Responsibility for reversing this historic drought falls squarely on the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP). To address the gap, clear guidelines and robust fundings were recently announced by the agency to support entries in the International Feature Film category.
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In the entire history of the prestigious ceremony, no local film has been shortlisted or nominated, although "Magellan" was previously regarded as the closest contender. A structured intervention was deemed necessary by the government. Consequently, the Pinoy Oscars Pursuit grants program would be implemented by the academy to provide financial backings for the marketing and promotional efforts needed to reach the fifteen-film shortlist.
Under the new framework, stringent eligibility rules would be enforced. The chosen film must have a paid seven-day theatrical run in the country between October 1 to September 30 of the following year. If an entry is initially released on television, streaming platforms, video-on-demand services or online portals before its theatrical run, such actions would result to immediate disqualification. Furthermore, over fifty percent of the dialogue must be in a non-English language, and creative control must reside largely with citizens or residents.
Based on the updated directives from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organizers of the awards, alternative pathways are available. Films that secure top prizes at major international festivals, e.g., the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival or the Palme d'Or at Cannes, would also be eligible for the grants program.
A pre-selection committee would endorse a seven-film shortlist to the director-general of the academy, who would then turn over the process to a distinct judging body. The National Selection Committee, composed of seven independent individuals in the local film industry, select the official submission via a secret ballot. Submissions would be rigorously evaluated based on artistic merit (fifty percent), cultural relevance (thirty percent) and capacity to campaign (twenty percent). If a member has any affiliation to a shortlisted film, they would be immediately replaced by a backup personality.
Massive financial incentives would be provided to support the chosen entry. The official selection instantly receives an eight-million-peso baseline grant. If the film premiered at an A-list festival, e.g., Cannes, Berlin or Venice, additional tranches of three million pesos would be given. Further incentives are tied to securing a North American distributor, winning major awards and leveraging the distributor's past Oscar track record. In total, the maximum grant that an official submission could receive is twenty-five million pesos.
For non-selected films competing in other categories, alternate fundings would be distributed. These films could receive grants ranging from five hundred thousand pesos to a maximum of seven million five hundred thousand pesos, depending on festival wins and distributor track records. Unless a film successfully advances in the campaign, unused grant money would be returned to the government and would be reallocated in the next annual budget upon request by the agency.
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