Golden Globes to Invite Up to 200 Overseas Critics From FIPRESCI as Voters – But Not Members

Hundreds of members the International Federation of Film Critics, have been invited to cast a ballot for the HFPA’s troubled awards show

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In its latest effort to diversify and expand the pool of individuals who vote for the Golden Globe Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has invited members of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, to serve as non-member voters for the 2023 ceremony.

TheWrap has previously reported that the HFPA seeks to add roughly 200 nonmember voters by next year in a bid to mend its reputation and win back the support of Hollywood publicists, studios and streamers. That would nearly triple the total pool of Globes voters – up from the current 101 active members and three emeritus members who currently make up the organization. However, an HFPA spokesperson said that no hard cap on the number of jurors has been set and that they will be gauging the response and enthusiasm among FIPRESCI members.

A rep for FIPRESCI told TheWrap that it received the invitation via an email from the HFPA and forwarded the invite along to its hundreds of global members, but it did not advise any recommendation about whether or not to accept.

“We support the idea and wish of the HFPA to diversify the voters on an international level, in the sense of a richness of cultures,” Klaus Eder, general secretary for FIPRESCI, told TheWrap in a statement. “As well, our colleagues, in particular in small and remote countries, may appreciate to get an early access (or an access at all) to the eligible cinema and TV films.”

To be eligible to vote for the Globes, FIPRESCI members and critics must be based outside of the U.S. and must write for international publications. Those ultimately approved as voters can be renominated as voters in subsequent years, but they must have their application re-approved annually.

FIPRESCI is a federation of numerous national film critic associations from 49 different countries, some of which have members individually numbering in the hundreds while other countries only have a handful of members. Eder noted that an exact headcount for its membership is difficult to pin down. Additionally, for those countries without national associations, FIPRESCI has 79 “individual members” from around 35 different countries, including some based in the U.S. However, an HFPA spokesperson explained that any critics who write for U.S. publications would not be eligible to vote for the Globes in 2023.

FIPRESCI members have until July 20 to apply to become Globes voters. Applications will be reviewed by five non-HFPA journalism professionals and four active HFPA members, which make up the HFPA Credentials Committee.

“Our plans to continue increasing the size and diversity of the voting body reflects our commitment to be more representative of the larger global community and represent the diversity of interests embodied by the international journalists covering the growth of streaming entertainment content and the rapid rise of overseas production centres such as Bollywood and Nollywood,” the HFPA said in a statement. “It’s a recognition of the collapse of international journalists being able to work and earn sustainable living in the U.S. due to the changed media landscape with almost all international bureaus dedicated to entertainment and based in the U.S. being eliminated by overseas publications.”

Last year, the HFPA added 21 new members to its ranks (six of them Black) as part of its effort to improve diversity. But after the organization recently updated its bylaws to expand the number of voters (but not the membership rolls), the group has begun outreach to international groups, starting with FIPRESCI.

The HFPA has continued to struggle to win over Hollywood publicists, studios and networks who boycotted the group following a 2021 Los Angeles Times report that exposed the group’s history of self-dealing and lack of even a single Black member. The outcry led NBC to cancel the 2022 broadcast.

The group responded by adding 21 new members (six of them Black), appointing a chief diversity officer and installing other reform efforts, but TheWrap also reported that the PR boycott remains in place. By contrast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which similarly came under scrutiny for its lack of diversity, has as of this year over 10,000 active members thanks to its membership overhaul – an increase of several thousand since 2015’s viral #OscarsSoWhite campaign.

Screen Daily first reported the news.

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