NEWS: The 2019-2020 Film Awards Calendar Is Shorter, Tighter, and Stressful1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhen the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences threw down the gauntlet with a new show date of February 9, 2020, a full two weeks earlier than this year, they hoped to improve ratings and to shorten what has become a very long road to the Oscars. The ratings will remain to be seen, but already we know that the new date is creating a red-carpet traffic jam worthy of the 405.
The schedule is now so short that the Academy pushed the Scientific and Technical Awards out of the awards season altogether, to June 2020.
The Santa Barbara Film Festival, which features conversations and panels with Oscar contenders, is now in the middle of January, rather than February. It will overlap with the Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 23-February 2. To give the Oscars room, the Berlinale is moving later (February 20-March 1, 2020).
Image credit: Danny Moloshok