The 84th annual Academy Awards will be in February, but it's next year's award contest that has ignited conversation around the Bay. 

Last week, the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences  announced new rules for the documentary category that will go into effect for the 2013 Oscars. One provision in particular has drawn the ire of observers: that only documentary films reviewed by the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times will be eligible.

But beyond that, the longterm effects are being hotly debated, as some filmmakers think that it could make Oscar campaigns for documentary films resemble the costly, months-long feature film competition.

“It will narrow the net," said Tiffany Shlain, the director of "Connected" and founder of the Webby Awards. 

Others thought that the changes are positive. “My hope is that this change means more critically acclaimed films get included,” said Michael Jacobs of Strike Anywhere Films, “I think widely popular documentaries, celebrated at the highest level, help to advance the genre.”

The review requirement has gotten the most attention, but the academy has a whole fleet of changes planned. Other rule modifications include full documentary branch will be responsible for the nominating process and all Academy members will vote on which film wins the award for Best Documentary. Academy members will also be allowed to watch the films on DVD or as digital screeners, which will be sent out quarterly throughout the year. Previously, all the nominated films had to be viewed in a theater.

Under the old rules, smaller committees within the documentary branch voted on whether individual films would make the shortlist for nomination. This system had come under a heavy criticism over the years, most memorably in 1994, when the remarkable film “Hoop Dreams” wasn’t even in the running for a nomination.

Because of problems like this, Bay Area documentarian Malcolm Pullinger, who produced “Winnebago Man”, sees the new rules as a step in the right direction. “I think we’ll see fewer odd choices and glaring omissions on the shortlist next year," he said.

The new reviews rule also comes with a requirement that all documentaries must  have week-long runs in New York and Los Angeles in order to be considered. As stated by Academy Board of Governors member Michael Moore, the intent was to keep documentaries bound for television out of the running for what is meant to be a theatrical award.

One result of the rule changes will be to end the practice of filmmakers depending on the International Documentary Association’s Docuweeks program to fulfill the Academy’s requirements, as those screenings are not considered ‘commercial’ and thus not covered in the media. In 2011 one documentary on the Academy’s shortlist came out of Docuweeks, “Semper-Fi: Always Faithful”. This film would not have qualified for Academy consideration under the new rules.

Shlain, whose film "Connected” played in 13 cities this year, saw Docuweeks as “a great alternative for a lot of documentary filmmakers.”

One of the less obvious results of the rule changes is that documentarians will be forced to spend more in order to compete for awards. Not only is theatrical distribution costly – even for one week - but so are the logistics of getting DVDs or digital screeners to the 157 people on the documentary branch, not to mention all 5,800 members of the Academy. 

“It might ultimately mean the documentary nominations will take on the same character as the fiction feature nominations," said Pullinger, " [They will be] the better of the year’s bigger films, with a lesser-known film in the mix once in awhile. “

Jacobs identifies another impact, noting that more specific laurels like the Spirit Awards, The Gotham Film Awards, and the documentary-only Cinema Eye Honors might become more prestigious.

“I think the Academy changes will increase the value and importance of these awards for documentary filmmakers as they continue to fill the gap between larger releases and smaller festival favorites,” he said.

All three documentarians agreed that receiving nominations and awards can have a massive impact on the commercial prospects of a film. But each pointed out that no one takes on the immense amount of work necessary to produce a documentary just because they want to win something. As Jacobs explains, “If an Oscar nod is your only hope of getting publicity or recognition for your film, I would question your distribution strategy - and even your motivation for making that film in the first place.“

Shlain expanded on this thought. “The awards 'Connected' has won have definitely validated all the work that went into it. But really, our goal is to trigger conversations about the issues of our day," she said, "That is equally, if not more, important.”