MIFF 2022: Carter Pilcher, CEO of ShortsTV, reveals 3 ways to qualify for the Oscars

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the global entertainment industry, but many young filmmakers are unaware how to qualify their work for the coveted awards.

Carter Pilcher, founder and CEO of short movies entertainment company ShortsTV and producer of many Oscar-nominated short films, gave a brief description of the process at a masterclass at the 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival.

Pilcher revealed that there are three ways to qualify to enter one's film at the Oscars. “The film must be commercially released for seven days in a Los Angeles theatre or win a qualifying prize at an accredited film festival," he said. "It can also qualify by winning a gold, silver or bronze award at the Student Academy awards.”

Pilcher, who has been distributing Oscar-nominated short films for 17 years and is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) as well as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), said making a great short film is really about storytelling.

“To get an Oscar, you have to tell a great story or raise an issue that needs to be solved," he said. "One can make the story interesting and exciting with pictures, inferences, characters, voice-overs, animation and live action. But filmmakers should be cautious while mixing various media. Everything you use for your film must serve the story.”

Pilcher also believes that getting nominated for the Oscars should not be the goal of a filmmaker. "The main goal of any filmmaker is introduction of one’s film and oneself as a filmmaker," he said. "Theatrical release of the film allows filmmakers to share their work with a greater audience. It will also bring one into the larger world of filmmaking on a different level.”

Pilcher thinks short films will soon become a mainstream art form in India as well as elsewhere. But the trend of releasing them directly on streaming platforms may militate against the films being considered for Oscar nominations, he cautioned.

Last year, Pilcher's ShortsTV, a channel dedicated to short films, also partnered with Amazon Prime Video in India.