Kashmir Files is on the Oscars Reminder List (not ‘shortlist’). What is this List, and what happens now?

The director of The Kashmir Files, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, claimed on Twitter that his film had been “shortlisted” for Oscars 2023 in the “first list”, adding that it was one of five Indian films in the list.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: #TheKashmirFiles has been shortlisted for #Oscars2023 in the first list of @TheAcademy. It’s one of the 5 films from India. I wish all of them very best. A great year for Indian cinema. 🙏🙏🙏

— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) January 10, 2023

In fact, The Kashmir Files — and other Indian films — have appeared on the “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 95th Academy Awards”, which includes movies that can officially compete in various categories. The AMPAS issues a Reminder List before the Oscars every year. It does not mean that the films on it will necessarily advance to the final nominations for the Awards.

So, what is the ‘Reminder List’ for the Oscars?

The ‘Reminder List’ is brought out by the Academy ahead of the final nominations. The Reminder List is the list of films that have been watched by the Academy members, and can be considered eligible to be qualified for nominations in various categories. The List makes up the larger pool of films out of which the final nomination list emerges.

However being included in the Reminder List is no guarantee that a film will appear in the nominations, or even that it will get a leg-up in the process. For example, the Tamil films starring Suriya Jai Bhim (2021) and Soorarai Pottru (2020) were on the last two years’ lists — but neither film could make it any further.

What makes a film eligible for Oscar consideration?

The Academy has very broad eligibility rules for movies to be considered for Oscars. According to the Oscars website, to be eligible,

• 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,
• they must have screened between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 and complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the sane venue, and
• feature films must have a running time of more than 40 minutes.

What other Indian titles are there on this year’s List?

There are RRR, Kantara, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show (Last Film Show; Gujarati), which is India’s official Oscar entry in the category of Best International Feature Film.

Also on the List are the Marathi titles Me Vasantrao and Tuzhya Sathi Kahi Hi, R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Iravin Nizhal (Tamil), and Vikrant Rona (Kannada). The Gray Man, an American action thriller that features Tamil actor Dhanush in a prominent role, has also made it to the Reminder List.

And have any actual shortlists been announced yet?

Yes, on December 21 last year, the Academy announced shortlists for 10 categories: Documentary Feature Film (15 films), Documentary Short Film (15), International Feature Film (15), Makeup and Hairstyling (10), Music (Original Score) (15), Music (Original Song) (15), Animated Short Film (15), Live Action Short Film (15), Sound (10), and Visual Effects (10). The shortlist is the stage before the final nominations.

Have any Indian titles been shortlisted?

Yes, four titles — perhaps the most ever — have made it to shortlists in four different categories. The shortlist is the stage before the nominations.

Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes has been shortlisted in the Documentary Feature Film category. Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers is on the Documentary Short Film shortlist.

Chhello Show (Last Film Show) is on the International Feature Film shortlist, and the ‘Naatu Naatu’ number from RRR is in the Music (Original Song) shortlist. On January 10, the song won the Golden Globe for the Best Original Song for its composer MM Keeravani, along with singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.

So what happens next in the Oscars process?

The 9,579 eligible voting members of the Academy will begin filling out their ballots on January 12 (Thursday). This process will go on for five days, and will close on January 17 (Tuesday). The official Oscar nominations will be announced January 24.