MUMBAI/LOS ANGELES, May 4 -- On May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduced a series of revisions to its existing rules. Ahead of the 99th Oscars in 2027, the regulations mandate that actors can be nominated for more than one performance in the same category, and the website states the consideration will depend on portrayals that are "demonstrably performed by humans with their consent" and not artificially engineered. A more significant shift has been in the International Feature Film category with the expansion of the eligibility criteria. The new directive makes space for multiple submissions from the same country. Traditionally, this category restricted countries to one submission per year, with specific rules. In order to be considered, a non-English language film must have a theatrical release for seven consecutive days in the country of its origin and be chosen by an organisation, jury or committee approved by the Academy. The recent amendments widen the scope by including films that win top awards at major film festivals like the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award - Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d'Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion). This comes in the aftermath of crucial omissions of festival winners in the category and the subsequent public outcry. In 2024, France submitted Tran Anh Hung's The Taste of Things over Justine Triet's Palme d'Or-winning courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. The next year, India selected Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies as its official entry over Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024. Under the new rules, both Rao and Kapadia's films would be eligible for consideration. Filmmaker Shaunak Sen, whose documentary All That Breathes (2022) won the top prize at Sundance and was shortlisted at the 95th Academy Awards, approves of it. "This shift will allow different genres to compete, which is healthy. You don't need to have a kitchen-sink social realism kind of a project that should represent India. A film culture does better if it is more vibrant and there is a wider bandwidth," Sen states. In India, the amendment feels like a much-needed intervention. In the past, the selection process by the Film Federation of India (FFI), the non-governmental body comprising producers, distributors, exhibitors and studio owners and in charge of selecting the official entry to the Academy since 1951, has been dense and mired in controversies. Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light made waves in the global circuit and was the first Indian title to compete at the Cannes Film Festival in three decades. But FFI president Ravi Kottarakara reasoned that the film did not feel Indian enough. "The jury said that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India," Kottarakara had told The Hollywood Reporter India. Citing the exclusion of Kapadia's film, filmmaker Rohan Kanawade calls the modifications a timely mediation. "Sometimes, films that have done well internationally and are recognised are not appreciated in India. Juries have their thought process and often films with global acclaim do not get the chance to compete. This new rule will change that." Kanawade's film Sabar Bonda won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2025 but was not selected as India's official entry. In years, documentaries and feature films from India have dominated international festivals. Sen, Kapadia and Kanawade belong to a generation whose work and festival wins have cultivated curiosity about India's film culture, enhancing prospects in the International Feature Film category, though chances are still not bullish. "There is no doubt the new rules are more democratic, but how many Indian films have won the biggest prizes at festivals? This sets the bar too high and only six more films are eligible," Meenakshi Shedde, senior programme advisor, South Asia, Toronto International Film Festival, says. Shedde, who has served as a festival programmer, says improving India's Oscars chances depends on re-examining the selection process. "The idea is not to select the best film in India but the best Indian film for the Oscars."...