The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released its shortlist of feature-length documentaries that are eligible for nomination for an Academy Award.
They are, in alphabetical order-
- At the Death House Door
- The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
- Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
- Encounters at the End of the World
- Fuel
- The Garden
- Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
- I.O.U.S.A.
- In a Dream
- Made in America
- Man on Wire
- Pray the Devil Back to Hell
- Standard Operating Procedure
- They Killed Sister Dorothy
- Trouble the Water
According to the Academy’s rules, members of the Documentary Branch will select five films from the shortlist to be the official nominations for the Documentary Feature Oscar. Those five will be voted on by all Academy members.
This year’s hopefuls are an interesting mix, and I don’t think that there are really any here the don’t deserve one of the five nomination spots. While I don’t like making Oscar predictions, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that Man On Wire, the story of a high wire walker who strung and walked a line between the Twin Towers of the World Trade center in the 1970s, will be the film taking home the gold.
