How the Academy’s Selection Process Has Changed the International Race

Ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards last April and despite the global pandemic, a record 97 countries submitted a film for the best international feature Oscar competition, and a record 93 were accepted into the race. For the 94th Oscars, the number of submitted films trickled down to 80, and the process of vetting those entries is still underway. But one thing is already certain: This year’s crop of hopefuls includes a bunch of edgy productions of the sort the Academy used to shy away from, but increasingly has embraced.What changed? For many years, the knock on the Academy’s ......