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Paris Barclay’s Billy Preston Documentary Kicks Off Oscar Season in Academy Screening Room

Variety has exclusively learned that Paris Barclay’s “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is the first film to be uploaded to the Academy Screening Room, marking the official start of the film awards season for Oscar voters.

Variety Music·Jun 10, 2026·via Variety Music

Paris Barclay’s Billy Preston Documentary Kicks Off Oscar Season in Academy Screening Room

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Jun 10, 2026 3:29pm PT

Paris Barclay’s ‘Billy Preston’ Doc Is First Film in Academy Screening Room for Oscar Season (EXCLUSIVE)

By Clayton Davis

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Clayton Davis

Chief Awards Editor

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The upcoming film awards season has its first official entry.

Variety has learned exclusively that Paris Barclay’s documentary “ Billy Preston : That’s the Way God Planned It” is the first film uploaded to the Academy Screening Room. On the members-only platform, Oscar voters can stream movies for awards consideration for the 99th Academy Awards.

The upload serves as the unofficial starting gun for a race that will unfold over the next eight-plus months. A new wave of titles is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, with films added every Friday through the end of the season across all categories, including best picture, specialty races, documentary feature, animated feature, international feature and short film categories.