Photo: Oscars 2020
KARACHI: The upcoming 93rd Academy Awards are open for entries. According to recent reports, the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee is inviting filmmakers to submit their films for Oscar consideration. To be submitted under the ‘International Feature Film Award’ category, the deadline is October 20, 2020, 5:00 pm. Oscar submissions for 2020 will mark the eighth consecutive year since Pakistan is sending in entries.
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The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee previously submitted Zinda Bhaag in 2013, Dukhtar in 2014, Moor in 2015, Mah-e-Mir in 2016, Saawan in 2017, Cake in 2018 and Lal Kabootar in 2019. The list aimed to represent the best of Pakistani cinema for Oscar consideration in the ‘International Feature Film’ category.
The committee will choose one film as Pakistan’s official submission for the ‘International Feature Film Award’. An international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the United States of America and its territories with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are permitted.
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The Oscar committee for 2020 will have two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as its chairperson. Others in the list include musician Faisal Kapadia, director Asad-ul-Haq, filmmakers Maheen Zia, Asim Abbasi and Hamza Bangash, scriptwriter Bee Gul, actors Syed Muhd Ahmed and Mehwish Hayat, and actor-designer Hasan Sheheryar Yasin.
The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic mandated the closure of commercial motion picture theatres worldwide. Until further notice and for the 93rd Awards year only, country-selected films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are initially made available through a reputable commercial streaming distribution service or video on demand may qualify for awards consideration in the International Feature category. This is applicable for the upcoming awards under certain conditions.
The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee will announce its submissions for Oscar award consideration in
November 2020.
For entry forms, submission details and queries, please write to pakistancommittee@gmail.com
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