The Oscars are changing for the better, but the field is not nearly as wide open as you might think, nor is it reflective of the wide variety of high-quality films that exist.

Even if you don't care about the Oscars, what's considered Oscar-worthy deeply impacts what films you hear about.

Because arthouse and international distributors divide films into two categories: movies they think can win Oscars and movies that can't.

Oscar movies get massive marketing budgets, come out in the fall, and screen for months. So you hear about them. The rest get dumped in the spring and summer, and they might not even tell press the films exist, no matter how good the movies are.

In this episode, Alex is joined by film critic C.J. Prince of Acquired Cinema to discuss how and why the Oscars are becoming more international and how this impacts what movies you hear about and see. They also delve into what makes a movie an Oscar movie and how this relates to the way the movie business functions.

*** Interested in discovering the films that are too nuanced to be Oscar hopefuls? Join the waitlist for Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month Enrichment Experience http://seventh-row.com/reelruminators

*** Want to stay updated on future opportunities to see great movies that don't have the same visibility as Oscar movies? Subscribe to the Globetrotting Watchlist: http://seventh-row.com/globetrotting

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