When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list of films eligible for the Oscars, the Indian social media space was atwitter — there were several desi productions on the list. Soon messages of congratulations for the ‘shortlisted’, ‘qualified’ and ‘nominated’ films started pouring in, and the artistes associated with these projects started giving media bytes.

However, along with all this backslapping, there was a growing murmur of confusion — where was this nomination list/shortlist that these films were supposedly on? Online, celebration and confusion co-existed and continue to do so. Few cine buffs and fans were acquainted with the nuances that differentiated qualification, nomination and shortlisting.

Those who took the time to search soon got a clearer picture — over 10 Indian productions, along with 290 other films, were ‘eligible’ for nominations for Oscars. That’s all.

Technically, this list of films is called the Reminder List, and being a part of it just means that a film can officially compete in various categories, but merely featuring in it does not guarantee a spot in the final nominations list. The Academy has some criteria to decide if a film can be deemed eligible for an Oscar nomination.

According to Monday’s press announcement, “To be eligible for consideration under rules implemented for the 95th Academy Awards year, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in at least one of six US metropolitan areas: Los Angeles County; the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, and complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue. Feature films must have a running time of more than 40 minutes (sic).”

There are several other criteria that the films need to fulfil to be considered for an Oscars nomination. A host of Indian feature films have met these criteria – RRR, Kantara, Iravin Nizhal, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Me Vasantrao, The Kashmir Files, Chhello Show, The Next Morning, and Vikrant Rona. Documentaries All That Breathes by Shaunak Sen and Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers are also part of the list.

So what about the actors named in the list? According to Academy rules, for every film that makes it to the Reminder List, up to ten actors and actresses from it are eligible for nomination. This does not, however, mean any of these actors have individually made the nomination cut at the Oscars for their performance.

The Academy members began voting on January 12 to decide the nominees for each category. The nominations will be announced on January 24. After that, in a second round of voting, the members will pick the winners. 

It’s not that no films have made it to the Oscars shortlist yet. The Academy announced the shortlist for 10 categories just before Christmas and four Indian films are in contention – probably a first! These are Chhello Show (International Film), the RRR song Naatu Naatu (Original Song), All That Breathes (Documentary Feature) and The Elephant Whisperers (Documentary Short). Making it to the shortlist is the first step towards grabbing a nomination for the big night in March. Let’s wait for that!

An industry expert told us, “Not all categories at the Oscars have shortlists. Final nominations for categories like Best Film, Best Actor (Male and Female) for instance, will be directly announced on January 24. All the entries that meet the criteria of submission are eligible or are up for consideration in these categories and they all comprise the ‘REMINDER LIST’. RRR, Kantara, Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Kashmir Files, Me Vasantrao and Tuzhya Sathi Kahi Hi, Rocketry : The Nambi Effect, Iravin Nizhal, and Vikrant Rona all feature on the Oscar Reminder List. This list will also have a Top Gun: Maverick or Avatar: The Way Of Water or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”