The anticipation for the 97th <a href="https://247newslive.com/tag/academy-awards/”>Academy Awards is building as movie lovers eagerly await the announcement of which masterpieces in cinema will take home the coveted statues on 2nd March.
The question is: who decides what films or individuals receive an Oscar and how complex is the process?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the gatekeeper of the Oscars
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a distinguished organization with more than 10,000 members who represent diverse sectors of the industry. They include directors, actors, screenwriters and cinematographers as well as film editors.
It is divided into 17 branches that represent different disciplines in filmmaking. The branches are acting, directing and writing. They also include cinematography, costumes, film editing, and costume design.
In the phase of nomination, the members in each branch vote to select the nominees for their category. As an example, costume designers and film editors may nominate each other. All members have the right to vote for Best Picture. This is the Academy’s highest award and represents the best honor in the film industry.
It is a rare honor to be invited into the Academy. Only those who are distinguished in the industry and have shown exceptional achievements can receive this invitation. The Academy’s recognition of their contributions to filmmaking is a significant honor.
In the past few years, AMPAS actively pursued initiatives that would diversify their membership. They focused on including women, ethnic minorities underrepresented, and foreign filmmakers. The Academy Aperture 2025 Initiative highlights this commitment to ensure the Academy’s membership reflects more accurately the diversity of global film-goers and filmmakers.
Oscars Two-Stage Voting: Nominations and Winners
To determine who deserves to receive the Oscars, a strict two-stage vote process is used. Members of each branch nominate nominees in their categories during the first phase. In this way, the nominations of leaders are acknowledged by their peers.
The final stage of voting begins after the nominations phase. All Academy members can vote in any category. Although each category has a variety of different film disciplines, costume designers and makeup artists are in every single one.
In the vast majority of categories (including Best Actor and Best Director) the winner is determined by the simple vote. It means the candidate with the greatest number of votes wins.
Voting is done by secret ballot to maintain confidentiality and impartiality. In 2013, the Academy introduced a safe online voting system that allows for efficient and accurate vote counting. The entire voting process is meticulously overseen by the independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), ensuring complete confidentiality, accuracy, and fairness.
The Best Picture Preferential Ballot System: Broadening Support
Filmmakers do not just get excited over the Best International Feature Film. This category is unique in that it uses a system of preferential voting. This approach is unique and aims to guarantee that the Academy will support the winner film with broad backing.
This system allows voters to rank all the films nominated in their order of choice, instead of selecting just one. A film that receives over 50 percent of first-choice voting during the initial counting is declared as the winner. This shows widespread support.
If no film receives the majority of votes in the first round then the film that received the least number of first choice votes will be eliminated. All votes for this film will be redistributed, reflecting the preferences of all voters.
The iterative voting process is repeated until the film receives at least half the votes cast, and becomes the Best Picture. The preferential method of voting ensures that the winner is a unanimous choice. It reflects the wide range of opinions and tastes within the Academy membership, and emphasizes the collaborative nature in filmmaking.