Ebert, Snowden and Wim Wenders on High-Profile Documentary Shortlist

The Academy has announced the 15-wide documentary shortlist and apart from one title, it's is a very high-profile group of names. At least they are if you follow the world of documentary. I had discussed with a friend recently that last year's field may go down as the greatest in the category's history, but depending on how the branch votes this year they may just surpass it. I have already seen nine of the 15 and can vouch for almost all of them. Let's take a look.

• Art and Craft
• The Case Against 8 (review)
• Citizen Koch
• Citizenfour (podcast | Glenn's review)
• Finding Vivian Maier
• The Internet's Own Boy
• Jodorowsky's Dune
• Keep On Keepin' On
• The Kill Team
• Last Days in Vietnam (review)
  
• Life Itself
• The Overnighters
• The Salt of the Earth
• Tales of the Grim Sleeper (NYFF review | AFI review)
• Virunga
  

There are some big names in here. Apart from the likes of Edward Snowden Roger Ebert, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Clark Terry who are the subjects of the shortlist's most recognisable titles, there's also Wim Wenders (co-directed with Juliano Ribeiro Salgado) who is contending for his third documentary Oscar citation (after Beuna Vista Social Club and Pina) and first win with The Salt of the Earth, while Nick Broomfield is angling for his first ever nomination with Tales of the Grim Sleeper despite a big career. It appears the new documentary rules are finally working in his favor! Carl Deal and Tia Lesson are back with Citizen Koch after Trouble the Water was a nominee in 2008. While, most famously, Steve James, the director of Life Itself, is no stranger to Oscar controversies (but we'll talk about that in a couple of days!)

Since we all enjoy a spot of prognasticating, I'd be looking most heavily at Citizenfour, Keep on Keepin' On, Last Days in Vietnam (they love docs about Vietnam!) Life Itself, The Overnighters, although it would be sweet to see Broomfield finally nominated for an Oscar, especially since his pair of Aileen Wournos docs so heavily influenced another Oscar-winner: Monster. Finding Vivian Maier, the blockbuster of the field (until Citizenfour overtakes it this week) shouldn't be discounted either. I'd assume Virunga a threat for a nomination but between Project Nim and Blackfish, animal documentaries appear to be out of favor at the moment.

Left out of the field? Well, considering there were 134 semi-finalists, that's a long list! However, some of the more high-profile titles that didn't make the shortlist cut include The Dog, 20,000 Days on Earth, Rich Hill, Happy Valley, Particle Fever, National Gallery, Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, Antarctica: A Year on Ice, Manakamana, Nas: Time is Illmatic, Finding Fela and Whitey: United States of America vs James J Bulger. Just quietly, I know it was popular and was assumed a shortlist placing, but I'm kind of glad Red Army isn't on here. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those - The Dog, Manakamana and the Nick Cave-centric 20,000 Days on Earth especially - popped up on critic organisation lists though. As far as Oscar goes, however, they're sadly done.

Do you follow the documentary category now that bigger films and bigger names are finding themselves on the list? What are you doc hunches?

Comments

[will h]

I didn't realize neither of Nick Broomfield's Wuornous docs got nominated. That's crazy. They're incredible.

[NATHANIEL R]

so which film did the Trouble The Water people make? It wasn't clear and I LOVED that movie.

[San FranCinema]

I really hope The Case Against 8 doesn't wind up in the final five. Obviously marriage equality is an important subject -- one of the key issues of our day -- but this film lionizes conservative, mostly straight lawyers as the heroes of the LGBT community and fails to place this particular legal battle into any meaningful historical context.

[Glenn Dunks]

San FranCinema, exactly. I think I spoke about that in my review. In a way its excellent for shining a light on the conservative pro-white agenda of the movement, but terrible for doing so accidentally and not even noticing.

Nathaniel: CITIZEN KOCH. I forgot to include that.

[Steven]

GO DUNE!!!!

[3rtful]

LIFE ITSELF should so win the popular vote.

[Ian]

Heartbroken over the non-inclusion of Particle Fever. And National Gallery above all. When will the Academy ever recognize the massive contribution of Frederick Wiseman to the art of the documentary?

[Evan]

I wouldn't count out Virunga. It's gotten some mentions and is easily available on Netflix, which helped The Square out last year I would think.

I'm thinking Citizenfour and Life Itself battle for the win, with The Overnighters, Keep On Keepin' On, and one other (Virunga? Grim Sleeper? Vietnam? Vivian Maier?) rounding out the list.

[Mark The First]

Finding Vivian Maier has been pretty buzzy since that amazing trailer debuted so I would not be surprised to see it among the final five, honestly. It's a great portrait doc and they sometimes totally go for those.