The 2020 awards season is going to be seeing some changes this year due to COVID-19, and the Golden Globes are no different. This week, the Golden Globes organizers announced that the rules of eligibility for the international film category have been adjusted to compensate for production delays caused by the worldwide pandemic.
In the past, the window for foreign language film’s release to be applicable for a Golden Globes nomination was from October 1st to December 31. However, due to production delays caused by coronavirus, the Hollywood Press Association has decided to extend the window of release to allow films that missed their release date to still be included in this year’s nominees. This is a temporary stipulation for the extending circumstances of COVID-19.
The new rule states: “Foreign-language motion pictures that had a bona fide theatrical release planned to begin in their country of origin during the period from March 15 until a date to be determined by HFPA when cinemas in that country have generally reopened, may instead be released in any country in any format (e.g. a motion picture format such as in theatres or on pay-per-view or a television format such as subscription streaming service, subscription cable channel, broadcast television, etc.) and will still be eligible for the Golden Globe foreign-language motion picture awards.”
The Golden Globes have already made adjustments to the rules of eligibility in other film categories as we approach awards season, so no filmmaker or studio will have to put off receiving recognition for the hard work they’ve made. This will be conducive in keeping up prestige for films that haven’t received as much exposure this year due to COVID-19.
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