Oscars 2023: Kantara, Vikrant Rona enter list of 301 films ‘eligible’ for Academy Awards

The list includes the performers eligible for consideration in the acting categories as well

The Oscars have come calling Kannada cinema as two blockbusters from 2022 have made it to the list of feature films that are in contention for the 95th Academy Awards.

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara and Anup Bhandari’s Vikrant Rona have found a place among 301 feature films eligible for Oscar nominations, the polling for which is set to start this week. These are, however, not India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.

On January 10, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the ‘Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 95th Academy Awards’, including the performers eligible for consideration in the acting categories. The other entries from Indian cinema in the list include RRR, The Kashmir Files, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Me Vasantrao and All That Breathes.

The directors of the two films took to Twitter to share the news and express their happiness at the honour. Mr. Shetty, overjoyed at the having received two “Oscar qualifications”, extended a heartfelt gratitude to his supporters.

This is the second time Mr. Bhandari’s work has entered the Oscar’s Reminder List. Previously, his debut film Rangitaranga (2015) had found itself on the list in 2016.

According to the statement released on the Academy website, “To be eligible for consideration under rules implemented for the 95th Academy Awards year, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in at least one of six U.S. metropolitan areas: Los Angeles County; the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, and complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue. Feature films must have a running time of more than 40 minutes.”

The 9,579 eligible voting members will fill out their ballots between January 12 and January 17. The official Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24, and the Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.