In 2005, the Academy announced that the Board of Governors had changed the documentary eligibility rules, commencing with the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Documentaries that had theatrical releases became exempt from the Academy's television blackout provision. That means that following their theatrical roll outs, documentaries could be aired on television without jeopardizing their eligibility to be nominated and win an Oscar.
Supporting Greater Exposure for Documentaries
According to the Academy's Documentary Branch Executive Committee chairperson, Freida Lee Mock, theatrical exhibition requirements had been put in place at the Documentary Branch's request in order to encourage commercial theatrical runs for documentary films.
The measure has certainly been successful and has supported the growing number of documentaries that receive theatrical release.
The previous nine-month television blackout rule prevented documentary filmmakers and distributors from building on the momentum created by the film's theatrical roll out and exploiting their theatrical release as fully as possible. So, the Academy modified the rules to exempt those documentaries from the blackout provisions. For documentaries with more modest theatrical runs, the new rules reduce the blackout window to six months.
Rules Are Strictly Enforced
The regulations are still strictly observed. To qualify for exemption, a documentary must have had a minimum of 25 commercial exhibitions for paid admission in motion picture theaters in 15 states, each exhibition to be at least two consecutive days. (Exhibitions held at festivals, benefits, special events and the like do not qualify under this provision.)
The 2005 rules also contain a provision requiring that short documentaries "must be contractually available for theatrical release for six months after receiving a nomination," unless they have met the test for the new blackout exemption.
