The Academy Awards is on course to leave its 'Oscars So White' days behind. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a diversity clause in June for Best Picture contenders. On Tuesday, the body explained it revealing that from 2024 to meet the nominations standards, the films will have to have at least one main character or important supporting character from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, whether that means Asian, Hispanic, Black, Indigenous, Native American, Middle Eastern, North African, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. There are some workarounds to this clause. Resul Pookutty: Nobody Was Giving Me Work In Hindi Films And Regional Cinema Held Me Tight After I Won The Oscar.

30 percent of the secondary characters in a film will have to be women, LGBT+ people, people with disability, or underrepresented ethnic group. Or, the movie's storyline should focus on a minority group.

"The aperture must widen to reflect our diverse global population in both the creation of motion pictures and in the audiences who connect with them," Academy President David Rubin and Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a joint statement. "We believe these inclusion standards will be a catalyst for long-lasting, essential change in our industry."After Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis Calls Out Their Oscar-Nominated Movie The Help, Says 'Part of Me Feels Like I Betrayed My People'.

However, to be noted, the movie's contending in 2021 Oscars will not have to subscribe to these standards. But in 2022 and 2023, film's will have to submit a confidential form for eligibility. In 2024, the movies will have to meet two of the four inclusion standards.

The movies will also have to meet offscreen representation which includes, but not limited to,  having members from an underrepresented group. There will also be spot checks of sets conducted by the Academy to enforce the rules.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2020 12:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).