Pakistani filmmakers called to submit films for Oscars

KARACHI: The Pakistani Academy Selection Committe invites Pakistani filmmakers to submit their films for the Oscars consideration in the ‘International Feature Film Award’ category for the 94^th Academy Awards by 20^th September 2021, 5:00 PM. This will mark the ninth consecutive submission by the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee having previously submitted Zinda Bhaag in 2013, Dukhtar in 2014, Moor in 2015, Mah-e-Mir in 2016, Saawan in 2017, Cake in 2018, Lal Kabootar in 2019 and Zindagi Tamasha in 2020 to represent the best of Pakistani cinema for award consideration in the ‘International Feature Film’ category.

The Oscar committee for 2021 is chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and includes musician Ali Azmat , screen writer and director Bee Gul, actor, director and producer Humayun Saeed, Samina Ahmad and Jawed Sheikh , cinematographer Mo Azmi , author Omar Shahid Hamid, film critic Rafay Mahmood, and  actor Sania Saeed. 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. The criteria for the Oscar submission is as follows:

1. The country-selected film must be first released in the country of origin no earlier than January 1, 2021, and no later than December 31, 2021, and be first publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater for the profit of the producer and exhibitor.
2. The film must be advertised and exploited during its qualifying theatrical release in a manner considered normal and customary to theatrical feature distribution practices. The film need not have been released in the United States.
3. Films that, in any version, receive a nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution before their first qualifying theatrical release will not be eligible for Academy Awards consideration. Nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution includes but is not limited to:
   • Broadcast and cable television
   • PPV/VOD
   • DVD distribution
   • Inflight airline distribution
   • Internet transmission
4. The recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more than 50%) in a language or languages other than English. Accurate, legible English language subtitles are required.

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee will announce its nomination for award consideration on 20^th October 2021. For entry forms, submission details and queries, please write to: pakistancommittee@gmail.com