Just a little past midnight on Wednesday, the team of Homebound in India received a news alert worth losing sleep over. Director Neeraj Ghaywan’s friendship drama, which was among the 86 contenders for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, had secured a spot in the shortlist of 15. When mid-day reached out to Apoorva Mehta, co-producer of the Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa-starrer, he said that it is both a moment of celebration as well as the time to chart out the campaign’s next phase before the final five nominees are announced on January 22.
Before the voting lines close on January 15, participating voters — that consist of members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — will view all shortlisted films before choosing the final five.
Apoorva Mehta
The key, Mehta said, is to tap the new voters who haven’t participated yet. “You have many new voters. So, the key is to make the film more visible to them; have more people see the film and hopefully they will spread the word,” he said.
In the first leg of the Oscar campaign that began from November, producers Karan Johar and Mehta held screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and London, while also hiring award consultants to raise awareness about the film. It’s time to do more of the same. Despite the four-week window, things will gain momentum only in the last two weeks, stated Mehta. “Nobody [the competitors] will do anything this week because the holidays will start soon. We plan to go all out in the first two weeks of January. [Our strategy] will be a mix of screenings, PR, press, and advertorials. We will again travel to Los Angeles and New York with Homebound. Nobody can tell you how many registered voters watched it in the last month. You don’t even know who is registered [to vote] in the international category. So you have to depend on publicists [for that].”
An aggressive Oscar campaign needs a robust budget. When asked about assigning budget for the next leg, he said, “That’s what we’re working on now.”
Jan 22
When the five nominees of the Best International Film category will be announced
Also in the 15-film shortlist
‘Sirat’ (Spain)
‘It Was Just An Accident’ (France)
‘The Secret Agent’ (Brazil)
‘Sentimental Value’ (Norway)