Iran’s Oscar selection committee returns to House of Cinema after several years
Iran has reestablished its official Oscar selection committee under the House of Cinema, the country’s main film industry guild, marking a significant shift after years of oversight by the Farabi Cinema Foundation.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set October 1, 2024, as the deadline for countries to submit films for the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming Academy Awards, inn.ir reported.
The move restores control to the House of Cinema, which now holds the majority of seats on the committee responsible for choosing Iran’s official Oscar submission. The committee includes representatives from both the House of Cinema and government sectors.
This decision follows years of controversy surrounding the film selection process, which in the past sparked calls for a more transparent and artist-driven approach. The House of Cinema had formally petitioned in 2018 for the selection committee to be returned to an independent guild-based body, emphasizing that Oscar submission responsibilities should rest with a jury comprised solely of filmmakers and cinema professionals, free from government officials.
Under Academy rules, eligible films must have been publicly screened in their home country for at least seven consecutive days between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.
The new committee’s formation and mandate signal a renewed commitment to aligning Iran’s Oscar submissions with international standards and to giving artists a greater voice in the selection process.
In recent years, the Farabi Foundation, a government-backed institution, had been the official body handling the Oscar submission, but this shift back to the House of Cinema marks a notable recalibration of authority within Iran’s film industry.