Film Academy Affirms ‘Standards of Conduct’ for Members
In a letter sent to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Thursday, the organization’s CEO Dawn Hudson affirmed a Board of Governors-approved statement of values, i.e. “Standards of Conduct.”
The statement is the fruit of a specially-formed task force headed by Governor and Academy Officer David Rubin, whose members dedicated “many hours of research and discussion to drafting this document and evaluating future steps,” the letter reads. “Over the course of weeks, the task force consulted with professors of ethics, business, philosophy, and law from Georgetown, Harvard, Notre Dame, and Stanford, as well as experts in human resources and sexual harassment.” The group met with counterparts at the Television and British Academies, and, for reference, also reviewed the codes of conduct of other organizations, including AFI, Film Independent, and UCLA.
“Much remains to be done,” Hudson’s letter reads. “The task force will finalize procedures for handling allegations of misconduct, assuring that we can address them fairly and expeditiously … Those procedures will be sent to you in the new year.”
You can read the Academy’s Standards of Conduct statement in full below.
Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers. In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity. The Academy asks that members embrace their responsibility to affirm these principles and act when these principles are violated. There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency. The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.
If any member is found by the Board of Governors to have violated these standards or to have compromised the integrity of the Academy by their actions, the Board of Governors may take any disciplinary action permitted by the Academy’s Bylaws, including suspension or expulsion.
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