Yesterday the shortlists for several Academy Awards categories were published, including the short film sections. The big news has been that Madre, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, is among the 10 short films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to compete for the Oscar.
This completes two years of distribution that has taken Madre to 188 festivals so far and 105 awards, a success that I have analyzed in two posts to date:
The First Phases in the Distribution Strategy of Madre, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
The Distribution of Madre for Over a Year Through Festivals
These are the 10 short films selected in Fiction:
- Caroline, Logan George, Celine Held (USA)
- Chuchotage, Barnabás Tóth (Hungary)
- Detainment, Vincent Lambe (France)
- Fauve, Jeremy Comte (Canada)
- Icare, Nicolas Boucart (France)
- Marguerite, Marianne Farley (Canada)
- May Day, Fedrik De Beul, Olivier Magis (Belgium)
- Mother, Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain)
- Skin, Guy Nattiv (Canada)
- Wale, Barnaby Blackburn (United Kingdom)
The remaining short films are published on the Academy’s website, at this link.
Now that we are entering the final phase to learn the nominees, it is a good time to review and update the pathways to get here. The Oscar is one of the major objectives in short film distribution; reaching the shortlist and being nominated represents one of the greatest awards for a director.
To be able to submit, there are a series of filters. First of all, we must consider the main requirements:
- Maximum duration of 40 min.
- Qualify through one of the pathways, between October 1 and September 30 of the following year (in the case of documentary shorts, it must be from September 1 to August 31).
- Submit through an online form.
- The deadline was last October (for documentary shorts it was in September).
- In addition to the required documentation, a DCP copy must be sent.
These are the four ways to reach submission:
#1 Festivals
Through this pathway, you must win an award at one of the festivals accredited by the Academy. These lists are updated each year; there may be some changes, although the same festivals usually remain.
There are two different lists, one for fiction and animation, and another for documentary.
These lists clearly specify the qualifying awards, so there is no doubt. There can be between one and three awards per festival.
The awards from each country are also included, such as the Goyas in Spain, the French Césars, the British BAFTAs, the Italian David di Donatellos, the Canadian Screen Awards, and the German Film Awards.
In addition to these awards, there are other festivals whose national competitions also qualify, which help compensate countries that do not have national awards. With the exception of France, where the national competition of the Clermont-Ferrand Festival also qualifies.
In the case of documentary, there are some important differences; the most notable is that national awards from each country do not appear, such as the Goya Awards (most countries do not have a specific award for documentary shorts). This means that only the Goya for Best Fiction and Animation Short Film qualifies for the Oscars, but not the Goya for Best Documentary Short Film.
This pathway, in addition to being complicated, is the slowest and offers no guarantee. You can participate in all the festivals on the list but not win any of the qualifying awards.
#2 Theatrical Release in Los Angeles
This is the fastest and most reliable option. The short film must be exhibited commercially in a theater in Los Angeles County for at least 7 days. Note that the screening must appear in the theater’s programming.
If you have the budget and want to pursue this option, you simply need to reach an agreement with a theater. In exchange for a fixed payment to screen your short film for a week, the exhibitor will send you all the documentation required by the Academy.
This option is only valid for Fiction and Animation shorts, but not for student short films.
In the case of documentary short films, there are also some differences. In addition to Los Angeles County, it can be exhibited in a theater in New York City. In this case, another requirement is to advertise the screening in some of the Los Angeles media (LA Times and LA Weekly) or in New York (NY Times, Time Out, or Village Voice) and submit digital copies of these advertisements along with the required documentation.
If you use this option, keep in mind that short films must not have nontheatrical distribution (VOD, DVD, TV, internet, etc.) before being qualified for submission. If you have already released it, you can only qualify through festivals.
#3 Student Academy Awards
Only for short films produced by a film school. Short films that have won the gold, silver, or bronze medal in any of the categories of these awards would be qualified. There are four different categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative, and Alternative (the latter only for short films from the United States).
Film schools previously accredited by an Academy committee can participate in the Student Academy Awards; in the case of international film schools, they must be part of CILECT. Short films must be made by students during their training period, and only one short film per school can be submitted.
The dates for these awards are different; the deadline opens in March and usually closes in June. For the previous edition, FilmFreeway was used. The ceremony took place on September 22.
This option is the most difficult, but also the least expensive, as submission is free.
#4 Festivals with Short Film Theatrical Release in Los Angeles
Although I have added this option separately, it would really be #2, with a small difference. There are some festivals that screen a selection of their programming in Los Angeles in such a way that with the selection you can also obtain qualification to submit for the Oscars.
But this should not be confused with the first option of festivals, which are those officially accredited by the Academy.
This is the case with festivals like Manhattan Short, which hold a screening for a week so that the shorts participating in the festival can qualify for the Academy Awards. It appears that this is the option that brought the short film Chuchotage to the shortlist, as it participated in the latest edition of this festival.
Which is the best option?
Any of them is equally valid; once the submission is made, the short films are evaluated by the Academy under equal conditions. Neither awards nor other recognitions that the shorts have received have any influence.
Choose the best option according to the strategy you are designing and the budget you have. But, above all, do not stop trying.