IFTA VOTING PROCEDURE - FILM & DRAMA AWARDS

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

View the Submission Guidelines for the Film & Drama awards HERE

IFTA FILM & DRAMA AWARDS: VOTING PROCEDURES, CHAPTERS & JURIES

The Irish Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award are in the gift of the Academy and are not open to voting by members at any stage. The Rising Star Award is decided by a special jury appointed by IFTA and is not open to voting by members at any stage. All remaining awards are voted for (partially or wholly) by IFTA Academy Members and/or appointed Jury.

ACADEMY MEMBERS’ VOTING PROCEDURES

Voting is restricted to Members of the Academy who have officially registered to vote in any given year and also to experts officially participating on assigned Juries. Voting is conducted online and is authenticated by IFTA’s appointed independent scrutineers.

Before Round One voting opens, all registered voters are informed of voting rules and provided with the full list of eligible films that have been entered. Voters may cast their votes in order of preference 1, 2, 3. They need not use all their votes (Voters can select up to three options, but do not have to select all three to submit their vote). Member Voters should abstain in any category where they feel unqualified to vote or where they have not seen a considerable number of films. Jury Voters however MUST watch all films in the category they have been assigned to adjudicate and must register their full votes in order of preference.

For all categories points will be applied based on the voters’ ranking (ie; Three points for first preference, Two points for second preference, and One point for third preference).

Chapter Weighted Vote: Members of chapters that have a corresponding Award category, will have a ‘weighted’ vote in that category. (E.g., Members of the Directing Chapter will have a weighted vote in the Director Film Category.)

The shortlisted films in each category will be the films with the highest number of points from the members’ voting/Jury. In the event of a tie, the total number of votes (regardless of ranking) will be used to decide which entries are Shortlisted. If there remains a tie, additional films may be listed on the longlist.

JURY VOTING PROCEDURES

All Juries appointed consist of a mix of international experts along with Chapter members and other selected Irish Academy Voting Members. Juries will comprise experts with significant experience in the relevant discipline, E.g. The Jury for Cinematography will be made up of leading International and Irish DoP’s. For other categories such as Best Film, the Jury will comprise international filmmakers and experts in a number of fields including directing, producing, writers, cinematographers, festivals executives, critics and other relevant areas.

IFTA will ensure that every Jury is a fair representation of the industry (geographically, gender, language etc.) and that individuals involved in the funding, production, post production, promotion or distribution of any shortlisted titles will not be eligible to serve on that category jury). All Juries will view the list of titles or individuals in consideration. Each Jury member is informed that any possible conflicts of interest, must be declared to IFTA before the Jury viewing and voting takes place. All jurors are required to sign and return a declaration to this effect before they are sent voting links.

All jurors must watch all films in their category. Jurors can attend an Online Meeting to discuss the films before voting. There will be a Jury Chair appointed for each Jury. Jury meetings will be run as open, safe environments, enabling all jurors to speak and discuss freely. Academy staff do not participate on the call. Voting is private and confidential via ballot and must include votes on all nominated Projects and titles. Points are assigned to votes (e.g. 5 points for first place, 4 points for second and so on.) The winning project/individual will be the one with the most points. In the event of a tie the title/individual with the most first place votes will be selected.

Round One Voting: Shortlisting Nominations

Voters are encouraged to watch as many films as possible during the Viewing season in the lead up to Round One voting deadline, especially films in their assigned craft and/or opt-in chapter.

The Academy will provide all Voting Academy Members and Jury with key information about each of the submitted titles or individuals (including synopsis, biography, headshot). A viewing Link will also be provided for each film during the viewing season for all voters within the Secure private Members viewing area. 

Chapters - Weighted Votes: Chapters are made up of voters with expertise and experience in the specialised field relating to a category (e.g. Cinematography, Editing). Academy Chapter voters, that have a related Award category for their discipline, will be assigned a weighted vote for these votes. (i.e.; Cinematographers will have a weighted vote across cinematography). It is not permissible for entrants to target these chapters in their campaigns

• The Best Film Category - The shortlisted titles will be the top 6 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• The Best Drama Category - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• The Director Film and Director Drama categories -The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Directing (weighted), Producing, Writing, Acting, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Music.
• The Script Film and Script Drama categories -The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Writing (weighted), Directing Producing, Acting,
• Acting Categories (Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress across Film and Drama) are all voted on by all Academy Members with a weighted vote given to members of the Acting Chapter. .
• Feature Documentary, Short Film (Live Action) and Short Film (Animated), and Rising Star are Jury Only. The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the Jury.
• Cinematography - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Cinematography (weighted), Directing, Producing, Production Design and Editing.
• Costume Design - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Costume (weighted), Directing, Producing, Acting, Cinematography, Production Design and Hair and Makeup
• Hair and Makeup - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Hair & Makeup (weighted), Directing, Producing, Acting, Cinematography,Costume Design and Production Design.
• Editing - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Editing (Weighted) Directing, Producing, Cinematography, Sound and Music.
• Production Design - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Production Design (Weighted), Directing, Producing, Costume, Cinematography and Editing.
• Sound - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Sound (Weighted), Directing, Producing, Cinematography, Editing and Music
• Original Score - The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters from the following chapters can vote in this category: Music (Weighted) Directing, Producing, Sound
• VFX is Jury Only. The shortlisted titles will be the top 4 titles voted for overall by the Jury

IFTA reserves the right to announce a shortlist less than, or more than, four nominees.

Round Two Voting: Winners

• Best Film - This is a jury only category in Round 2. The winning title will be the top title voted for overall by the Jurors.
• Best Drama - The winning title will be the top title voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• The Director Film and Director Drama categories - The winning title will be the top title voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• The Script Film and Script Drama categories - The winning title will be the top title voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• Acting Categories (Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress across Film and Drama ).The winning title will be the top title voted for overall by the voters. All eligible Academy Voters can vote in this category.
• Feature Documentary, Short Film (Live Action) and Short Film (Animated), and Rising Star are Jury Only. The winning titles will be the top title as voted for overall by the Jury.
• Craft Categories (Cinematography, Costume Design, Hair and Makeup, Editing, Production Design, Sound, Original Score, and VFX) - All Craft categories are Jury only in Round 2. The winning titles will be the top title as voted for overall by the Jury in each category.

VIEW THE VOTING PROCEDURE AT A GLANCE HERE