Academy's 'inclusion' criteria for Best Picture included having LGBT-related cast, storyline
Did “One Battle After Another” get a boost from its LGBT-related themes at Sunday’s Academy Awards?
The Paul Thomas Anderson-directed drama starring Leonard DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro, which earned the Oscar for Best Picture along with several other awards, entered into the pinnacle of Hollywood’s award season after being nominated as film of the year by LGBT critics.
The film, which focuses on a former revolutionary and his daughter who find their way in a world filled with anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian themes, was recognized by GALECA’s self-identified “queer critics” at the 2026 Dorian Film Awards for its LGBT themes — one of several new categories listed on The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' “Representation and Inclusion Standards” for Best Picture eligibility.
Under the Academy’s new Representation and Academy Inclusion Standards (RAISE), films must meet two out of four standards to be eligible for Best Picture. One of those criteria includes having an LGBT-related “general ensemble cast” or a “main storyline/subject matter.”
Other categories of “underrepresented groups” listed for eligibility included women, racial or ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. "All categories other than Best Picture will be held to their current eligibility requirements,” according to the RAISE document. "Films in the specialty feature categories (Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, International Feature Film) submitted for Best Picture/General Entry consideration will be prompted to participate in the Representation and Inclusion Standards process."
These standards, introduced in 2020 and fully effective since the 96th Oscars in 2024, require films to submit a confidential form and meet at least half of the standards covering on-screen representation, creative leadership and crew, industry access opportunities like apprenticeships and training, and audience development through executive teams in marketing and distribution.
While “One Battle After Another” was not an explicitly LGBT film, the movie featured at least one LGBT-identified supporting character, a man who wore lipstick and women’s clothing.
Other winners included “Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor and Jessie Buckley, who became the first Irish actress to win Best Actress for her role in “Hamnet.” Ryan Coogler won best original screenplay for “Sinners,” which earned a record-breaking 16 nominations.
The changing criteria for the Oscars also reflects a shift taken by the Academy since the “#OscarsSoWhite” controversy in 2016, which led to the Academy taking steps to diversify its own voting bloc by expanding its membership beyond Americans to filmmakers from other countries and cultural backgrounds.
As of September, nearly a quarter of the Academy’s membership consists of voters from Africa, Asia and South America in addition to the U.S. and Europe.
