American Cinema Editors (ACE) has tweaked its eligibility guidelines for the upcoming awards season and can settle for submissions from YouTube and different digital platforms throughout present classes.
The change comes, ACE mentioned on Wednesday morning, in “response to the evolving media panorama and its assist for the inventive work rising throughout each conventional and digital areas”.
Moreover, there will likely be a brand new award offered for greatest edited quick, with eligible submissions hailing from theatrical shorts, short-from content material made for digital platforms, and narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental works.
ACE is contemplating aligning the utmost run time with the Academy’s 40-minute commonplace and expects to offer an replace on its web site earlier than the subsequent submission window.
The group additionally mentioned it’ll current YouTube with the ACE Visionary Award on the 76th Annual ACE Eddie Awards on February 27, 2026.
“YouTube has radically expanded the boundaries of who can inform tales and the way these tales attain audiences,” mentioned Anita Brandt-Burgoyne, ACE, chair of the blue ribbon committee. “This award celebrates its position in democratising visible storytelling and galvanizing a brand new era of editors.”
“This isn’t about catching as much as a development,” mentioned ACE govt director Jenni McCormick mentioned of the modifications. “It’s about planting our flag and saying: ACE is dedicated to main the way in which into what’s subsequent – with out ever shedding sight of the place we got here from.”
