The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced several changes to its Oscar rules and campaign regulations on Wednesday for categories that often feature Canadians on the shortlist.

Ahead of the 88th Academy Awards, changes have been made to the Animated Short and the Live Action Film Short, VFX and Documentary Short categories.

For the animated and live action shorts, qualifying films must have a theatrical run in Los Angeles county that lasts for at least seven consecutive days. The film must have at least one screening per day, and appear in theatre listings with dates and screening times. As well, the number of nominees in both categories is now set for five.

Last year, the Canada-Norway coproduction Me and Moulton was nominated along with four other titles for the best animated short Oscar prize. Me and My Moulton was produced by Mikrofilm AS’ Lise Fearnley and the NFB’s Marcy Page.

In the Visual Effects category, 20 titles will now be initially shortlisted for further consideration by the Academy. The number of films that will be shortlisted for final nominations voting will stay at 10.

The number of films that will be shortlisted for voting in the Documentary Short Subject category has increased from 8 to 10. The number of films that can receive nominations in this category has also been set for five. Previously, there could be three, four or five nominees.

The Academy also made changes to the Best Picture category, regarding producer eligibility, but did not, as was speculated, reduce the number of nominations from 10 to five. The Jean-Marc Vallee-directed Dallas Buyers Club was nominated for Best Picture for the 86th Academy Awards, held in 2014. It was produced by Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter.

The 88th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 28 2016 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Image: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com