India’s FFI flags off the Oscarrace
India’s FFI flags off the Oscarrace
The most coveted award in international cinema, the Oscar, is in its 99th year, and the Academy, as it does every year, invites entries from countries around the world. Every country is entitled to send one film as its official entry. In India, the process of vetting, a plethora of films down to choose just a solitary name, has just begun. And it is no easy task. We produce 1,600-2,000 films a year, or theatrical release, and many of them are meritorious on many counts. An apex body, which consists of all producers’ associations in India (more than 12 of them), overlooks this process. It is called the Film Federation of India.
In a Press Conference, held at The Club, Andheri, Mumbai, on 11 August, a day on which it rained cats and dogs, the Executive Committee of the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced that the opening of applications for receiving the films for India's entry to Oscars this year has already begun a week ago, on 04 August, and will run through till 07 September, 1800 hours. The FFI will nominate a Chairman of the Jury, along with senior qualified people from creative fields in cinema, who will be part of the jury. Going by experience, the FFI appoints 17-19 persons to serve on this Jury. The final entry will be decided by a vote after the Jury would have viewed all the screenings, and will be announced on 19th September 2026.
Ujjwal, Dharmendra, Abhay and Ashoke
'The FFI will provide all the help to the producers to have a smooth, democratic and transparent nomination process. We welcome more and more films to participate in the run to get nominated as India's entry into Oscars this year,” said Abhay Sinha, President, Film Federation of India.
Also present on the occasion were Nishant Ujjwal, Vice-President, Dharmendra Mehra, Honorary General Secretary, of FFI, Ashoke Pandit, producer, and President of the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) and Chief Advisor to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). Ashoke, who has been an actor, fielded many questions, as did Dharmendra. Nishant delivered the briefest of a Vote of Thanks. FFI’s other Honorary General Secretary is Ravi Kottarakara, who is a South-based producer.
No full-length Indian domestic feature film or local production has won a competitive Academy Award in categories like Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film). However, two notable Indian-produced cinematic works won Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards in 2023: RRR (which won Best Original Song for "Naatu Naatu") and The Elephant Whisperers (which won Best Documentary Short Film). In recent years, the following films were considered worthy of competing for the Award:
- 2022 (95th Academy Awards): Last Film Show (Chhello Show), directed by Pan Nalin (Gujarati) – Made the shortlist
- 2023 (96th Academy Awards): 2018: Everyone is a Hero — directed by Jude Anthony Joseph (Malayalam)
- 2024 (97th Academy Awards): Laapataa Ladies — directed by Kiran Rao (Hindi)
- 2025 (98th Academy Awards): Homebound — directed by Neeraj Ghaywan (Hindi) made the shortlist
Replying to this writer’s question about the funding that is required to it for consideration in the Oscar race, Dharmendra said that FFI was merely a parent body, and the expenses for taking the film to the Oscar is the producer’s responsibility. As a rule, the producers are able to raise the money required, but there have been exceptions, like Shwaas, the Marathi film short-listed by the Jury as India’s entry to the Oscars. The producer did not have even the Rs. 1.25 lakh fee that is to be paid, to send the entry. However, a lot of support came from well-wishers, and it made it to the USA. It was also revealed that Mother India (1957) was the first film that India sent as its entry for the Academy Award. So, India has been participating in the Oscar selections for the last 69 years.
To qualify for the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, a foreign film must be a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States, with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. It must be a feature-length film, lasting more than 40 minutes. Live-action fiction, animated features, and documentaries are all fully eligible. In line with creative accountability updates, scripts and performances must be human-authored, heavily restricting generative AI content. Starting with this, the 99th Academy Awards, the Academy has introduced a ground-breaking secondary pathway for qualification, moving away from strict reliance on national selection committees.
Pathway 1: Official Country Selection: An Academy-approved selection committee within a specific country chooses only one film to represent that entire nation (e.g., the Film Federation of India). The film must have been released commercially in its home country in a theatre, for at least seven consecutive days within the specific eligibility period defined for that awards cycle.
Pathway 2: The International Film Festival Route. To prevent highly praised films from being left out by local political decisions, a non-English language film can automatically qualify if it wins the top jury award at a prestigious international film festival include the Palme d'Or (Cannes), Golden Lion (Venice), Golden Bear (Berlin), World Cinema Grand Jury Prize (Sundance), Platform Award (Toronto), and Best Film Award (Busan).
Names of jury members of all countries have to be approved by the Academy, and are not announced till they have reached a verdict. The International Feature Film Executive Committee, India, shall resolve all questions of eligibility and rules. Films released in theatres between 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2026. In case films which are ready but have finalised date of release within the deadline of 30th September, 2026, which have been censored, confirmed release date with distributors and theatre confirmation, can also apply, but subject to the scrutiny and reconfirmation process done by FFI.
All interested film producers are requested to send their film details to the Film Federation of India, B-3, 3rd Floor, Everest Building, Tardeo Road, Mumbai 400034, and contact Mr. Anupam Dasgupta, Secretary, on Mobile No. 9619079362, or Mr. Mahendra M. Jadhav, Asst. Secretary, on Mobile No. 06369387186.
Though the venue was a medium-sized hall, it was packed to capacity, with both, reporters and photographers turning-up in large numbers. This writer could find a place in the first row, but at the right corner, when seen from the stage. It was a last minute invitation to this writer, but the event could not be missed. After the official business was concluded, FFI served a generous buffet to all present.
