By The time for speculation about Oscar’s pick for Best Documentary is coming to a close. What was once a wide open playing field, has been narrowed considerably with the announcement of the short list of nominees for Best Documentary Feature. Some of the 15 entries may surprise you; others won’t. For one, Catfish is not getting any closer to being verified as a documentary, as a nomination in this category could have done; it is noticeably absent from the list.
Unsurprisingly, Waiting for Superman has made the cut, but may be made to go head to head with another film treating a similar topic, The Lottery. However, the showmanship of the former entry will likely win more Academy favour. The war effort/debacle is represented by shortlisted docs Restrepo and The Tillman Story, and the financial crisis, by the Matt Damon-narrated doc, Inside Job. Damon sure gets around in the documentary department: he also narrated Oscar nominee No End in Sight (2007), Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004), and Running the Sahara (2008). Fan favourite Exit Through the Gift Shophas also made the Oscar short list, possibly putting an end to the…
The time for speculation about Oscar’s pick for Best Documentary is coming to a close. What was once a wide open playing field, has been narrowed considerably with the announcement of the short list of nominees for Best Documentary Feature. Some of the 15 entries may surprise you; others won’t. For one, Catfish is not getting any closer to being verified as a documentary, as a nomination in this category could have done; it is noticeably absent from the list.
Unsurprisingly, Waiting for Superman has made the cut, but may be made to go head to head with another film treating a similar topic, The Lottery. However, the showmanship of the former entry will likely win more Academy favour. The war effort/debacle is represented by shortlisted docs Restrepo and The Tillman Story, and the financial crisis, by the Matt Damon-narrated doc, Inside Job. Damon sure gets around in the documentary department: he also narrated Oscar nominee No End in Sight (2007), Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004), and Running the Sahara (2008). Fan favourite Exit Through the Gift Shop has also made the Oscar short list, possibly putting an end to the debate about it’s credibility as a non-fiction entry. Nominations for all categories of the Academy Awards will be announced on January 25, 2011.
Drum roll, please…the short listed documentaries are:
- Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
- Enemies of the People
- Exit Through the Gift Shop
- Gasland
- Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
- The Lottery
- Precious Life
- Quest for Honor
- Restrepo
- This Way of Life
- The Tillman Story
- Waiting for ‘Superman’
- Waste Land
- William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe