Online Film Critics Society

2012 OFCS Awards Rules

Rule One: Awards Definitions

1. The Online Film Critics Society’s annual awards are given honoring outstanding achievements in theatrically released feature-length motion pictures and to honor other achievements as provided for in these rules.
2. Nominations and awards will be conferred in each of the following categories:
• Best Picture
• Best Animated Feature
• Best Director
• Best Lead Actor
• Best Lead Actress
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Editing
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Not in the English Language
• Best Documentary
3. Special Achievement Awards will be handed out at such times as the membership feels such a reward is deserved.

Rule Two: Eligibility

1. Feature-length films are defined as being over 40 minutes in length.
2. Films must be publicly exhibited for a minimum of seven days in a theater within the New York City or Los Angeles areas during the eligibility period.
3. The required Los Angeles or New York City qualifying run must begin between January 1, 2012, and midnight of December 31, 2012.
4. Films that are shown first on broadcast or cable television, direct-to-video or over the internet will not be eligible.
5. Films released inside the United States prior to the Los Angeles or New York qualifying run will be eligible if public exhibition occurs no earlier than January 1, 2011 (previews and festivals excluded).
6. Each picture may have only one Los Angeles or New York City qualifying run. The earliest theatrical exhibition that meets such definition shall be designated the picture’s qualifying run.
7. Awards recipients must be those credited onscreen or through special exemption from the Online Film Critics Society. The OFCS reserves the right to select which names will and will not receive nominations and/or awards.
8. All films, regardless of country of origin, are eligible for awards consideration if they meet all other rules listed in this document.

Rule Three: Voting Timetable

1. Balloting will follow the prescribed format and timeframe
2. Phase One: Each member of the OFCS will be permitted to submit names for the reminder lists of eligible pictures and individual achievements. Participation in this phase is not mandatory. Voting in this phase is open for a period of three weeks.
3. Phase Two: Each member may submit their nominations in all categories based off the reminder list of eligible pictures and individual achievements, listing up to five nominees in each category unless otherwise specified in this document. Voting in this phase is mandatory. Voting in this phase is open for a period of two weeks.
4. Phase Three: After nominations have been announced, a list of nominees will be sent to the OFCS membership to select one winner in each category. Voting in this phase is mandatory. Voting in this phase is open for a period of one week.
5. The balloting timeline for awards honoring the best film achievements of 2010 is as follows.
• Phase One: Monday, November 19, 2012 – Saturday, December 8, 2012
• Phase Two: Monday, December 10, 2012 – Saturday, December 22, 2012
• Nominations Announced; Monday, December 24, 2012
• Phase Three: Monday, December 24, 2012 – Sunday, January 6, 2013
• Winners Announced: Monday, January 7, 2013

Rule Four: Balloting and Nominations

1. Voting on all achievements shall be restricted to active OFCS members.
2. Voting will be conducted via e-mail and other tools necessary to accurately track votes.
3. Phase Two voting will be tabulated using a weighted ballot assigning values based on the number of nominees in a category with the most points (5 in a five-nominee category and 3 in a three-nominee category) going to the first place vote, one fewer to the next place vote and so on. Ties may increase the number of nominees in a category to seven and four respectively. However, if a tie would force the number of nominees in a category to exceed these numbers, the tied nominees would be removed. The minimum number of nominees in a given category is four and two respectively.
4. Write-in votes are prohibited.

Rule Five: Rules for Special Awards

1. A maximum of three Special Awards may be given out each year.
2. Suggestions for Special Awards will be made during Phase One of balloting.
3. Special Awards will not be permitted if a category for such an award already exists.
4. Suggestions for Special Awards will be listed on Phase Two ballots where members will either vote for or against each Special Award nomination.
5. Only those Special Award nominations that receive a majority of affirmative votes are eligible for a Special Award.
6. If there are three or fewer Special Award nominees that receive more than 50% of the vote, all Special Award nominees will be honored. If there are more than three, the three highest vote recipients will be awarded Special Awards.
7. In the case of a tie, all tied Special Award nominees will be placed on the Phase Three ballot and voters will be asked to rank the tied Special Award nominees in order of preference. The Special Award nominees with the highest point totals will fill the remaining three Special Awards slots. If another tie occurs then none of the tied Special Award nominees will be honored.

Rule Six: Individual Category Rules

Best Picture

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category.

Best Animated Feature

• Number of Nominees: 5 (3 or 5 nominations, negotiated per year)
• Eligibility: At least 75% of all characters in the film must be animated and animation must figure in to at least 75% of the film’s running time.

Best Director

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category.

Best Lead Actor

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Whether a performance is lead or supporting is determined by the voting member. Studios, celebrities or publicists may not dictate the placement of an actor in one category or the other.

Best Lead Actress

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Whether a performance is lead or supporting is determined by the voting member. Studios, celebrities or publicists may not dictate the placement of an actor in one category or the other.

Best Supporting Actor

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Whether a performance is lead or supporting is determined by the voting member. Studios, celebrities or publicists may not dictate the placement of an actor in one category or the other.

Best Supporting Actress

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Whether a performance is lead or supporting is determined by the voting member. Studios, celebrities or publicists may not dictate the placement of an actor in one category or the other.

Best Original Screenplay

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Only screenplays written directly for the screen and not based on characters or stories previously produced or published are eligible for this award.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category. Only films based on material previously published or produced are eligible for this award. News articles are acceptable if a single article or story does not account for more than 35% of the film’s source material.

Best Editing

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category.

Best Cinematography

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: All features eligible for awards are eligible for this category.

Best Film Not in the English Language

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: 75% of all dialogue in a film must be of a language other than English to qualify for this award.

Best Documentary

• Number of Nominees: 5
• Eligibility: Only films which document actual events or situations through use of filmed interviews or archived footage and with limited event reenactments are eligible for this award. Fictionalized or narrative documents are not eligible.