ACADEMY ANNOUNCES RULE CHANGE IN TWO CATEGORIES

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – For the first time, the entire voting membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will automatically be eligible to vote in all 24 Oscar categories, Academy President Hawk Koch announced today at a meeting of the Academy’s members.  The Academy’s Board of Governors approved a plan that will allow members to see the nominated documentary shorts and foreign language films either at a theatrical screening or on DVD.

Prior to the final round of voting, the Academy will provide members with DVDs of the nominated films in five categories: Foreign Language Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film, and Live Action Short Film.  In previous years, members had been required to see the nominated films in a theater in order to vote.

“This change continues our efforts to expand our members’ participation in all aspects of the Academy’s activities including, of course, voting for the Oscars,” said Koch. “Building on this past season’s 90% record voter turnout, we want to give our members as many opportunities as possible to see these great films and vote in these categories next year.” The nomination processes for all categories remain unchanged.

Academy Awards rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Board of Governors for approval. The Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

8 DOC SHORTS ON OSCAR'S 2012 SHORTLIST

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 85th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

Voters from the Academy's Documentary Branch viewed this year's 31 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

  "The Education of Mohammad Hussein," Loki Films

 "Inocente," Shine Global, Inc.

 "Kings Point," Kings Point Documentary, Inc.

 "Mondays at Racine," Cynthia Wade Productions

 "Open Heart," Urban Landscapes Inc.

 "ParaÍso," The Strangebird Company

 "The Perfect Fit," SDI Productions Ltd.

 "Redemption," Downtown Docs

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

SOURCE The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

ACADEMY DOCS MAP ROADS TO HEALING, RECOVERY

Beverly Hills, CA – The documentary short subjects "Living for 32" and "One Thousand Pictures: RFK’s Last Journey," and the documentary feature "This Way of Life" will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 30th annual "Contemporary Documentaries" series on Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

Directed by Kevin Breslin and produced by Maria Cuomo Cole, "Living for 32" follows Colin Goddard, a survivor of the 2007 shooting spree that claimed the lives of 32 of his classmates at Virginia Tech, as he tries to live his life in a way that will honor the memory of those who died. Cole and Goddard will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening.

Produced by Jennifer Stoddart, "One Thousand Pictures: RFK’s Last Journey" recalls the thousands of people who lined the route in tribute when Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train traveled from New York to Washington following his 1968 assassination.

Directed by Thomas Burstyn and produced by Barbara Sumner-Burstyn, "This Way of Life" tells the story of Peter Ottley Karena and his wife, Colleen, who live with their six children in the remote Ruahine Mountains of New Zealand. Their idyllic life is disrupted when men who claim to have purchased the family’s house and land from Peter’s estranged father arrive to take ownership of the property.

The 30th annual "Contemporary Documentaries" series continues through May 30, showcasing feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2010 Academy Award® nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.