Documentary film is awesome, but most people don’t rush out to watch it or even have the ability to do that if they wanted. You usually get sucked into a documentary by accident and then you remember how great they can be. So here are the 15 documentaries you should probably try to get sucked into intentionally since they’ve been selected to compete for a nomination.
Honestly, I’ve seen two of these: Citizenfour and The Internet’s Own Boy. They were both great, and I’m sad I don’t really have the time to watch the rest. I hear amazing things about Life Itself and Jodorowsky’s Dune so just have to sit down and take them in. Check out the full list below, which was culled from the original 134 submissions and will be cut even more when the nominations are announced on January 15.
I think the only snub I’m seeing here is Nick Cave’s documentary 20,000 Days on Earth. I guess the academy didn’t bite on that partially staged thing.
Art and Craft
The Case Against 8
Citizen Koch
CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
The Internet’s Own Boy
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Keep On Keepin’ On
The Kill Team
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters
The Salt of the Earth
Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Virunga