Kramer was speaking at an Academy in Tokyo panel at the Tokyo International Film Festival alongside Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor and chief membership, impact and industry officer Meredith Shea, moderated by festival director Hisamatsu Takeo. The festival also presented Kramer with its Global Cinema Leadership Special Award. Kramer described the membership shift as part of a push for a more diverse and inclusive Academy.
A decade ago, he said, only 5% to 6% of members were based outside the U.S. It was sort of a pivot, a shift, I think, in our thinking about what was possible with global cinema at the Oscars, and that continues,” he said, referring to Bong Joon Ho’s 2020 best picture winner. Howell Taylor explained that besides Oscar nominees, who are automatically put forward, and candidates sponsored by existing members, each branch has an Aperture committee charged with finding filmmakers around the world.
During the audience Q&A, Howell Taylor said: “Just because the membership has increased does not mean that the qualifications have somehow decreased. Our membership was smaller because we were not as global, and we weren’t looking for excellence in filmmakers as much outside of the U.S.” Over the past couple of years, the Academy has visited India, London, Rio, Morelia, Marrakech and Busan. And it’s so crucial to take those conversations and that information because it really does shape the work that the Board does and how our organization moves forward.” Shea noted that submitting a film for Oscar consideration costs nothing in any category, more than 200 festival awards make short films automatically eligible, and members can watch contenders on the Academy Screening Room app.
The Academy is global, and it welcomes all filmmakers,” she said. A major step toward a worldwide audience comes with the Oscars’ move to YouTube, where Kramer said the ceremony will be available free to 2.5 billion people in more than 30 languages from 2029. And that is a huge, intentional move by the Academy to reach a bigger global audience,” he said.
Asked whether the Tokyo International Film Festival could join the six festivals whose top prizes now qualify films for the international feature race, Kramer said: “We’re looking to expand the number of festivals that help films qualify for the International Feature Film category. That’s a process that we’re undertaking this year, so stay tuned for more information on that.” In a later answer, Kramer said the first six were chosen in large part on “the timing on the calendar,” and that the Academy is “just beginning these conversations.” Howell Taylor said discussions about expanding the list are “ongoing right now.” Asked whether the category could one day become redundant as the Academy grows more international, Kramer said: “Right now, I don’t see that category as being redundant.” Animation is another area where the Academy’s global reach shows. Shea, who ran the animated feature category for more than a decade, said submissions grew from 12 to close to 40 over that period, with at least six anime titles a year.
In his closing remarks, Kramer said: “I’m always struck on these trips, and this is no exception, by the warmth, by the sense of community, by the sense of collaboration, and how we all speak the same cinema language. And it’s very heartening, especially in this moment of a lot of global complications and complexities.”
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