Where are the docs in the technical categories?

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Almost two weeks after the Oscar nominations and one snub still stings: Welcome to Chechnya in Visual Effects. After making it in the shortlist, hopes were high that its life-saving use of facial replacements could catapult it to Oscar history as the first documentary to be nominated in this category, one largely dominated by Hollywood blockbusters (which were mostly missing last year) Only a year like 2020 could have brought a documentary film close to this category and it still did not happen. 

This begs the question: why are documentaries routinely ignored in categories outside of Documentary Feature? 

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Doc Corner: 'A Glitch in the Matrix'

Doc Corner, by Glenn Dunks, is back after its brief hiatus.

Rodney Ascher makes extremely goofy documentaries. I am sure that he comes at them with all the seriousness that their dark and sinister tones would suggest, but that doesn’t stop them from ending up as, well, extremely goofy movies. There was Room 237 about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. There was also The Nightmare, about sleep paralysis. Both goofy.

That doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining. In fact, that’s often their most commendable aspect. Lord knows, it certainly cannot be said that Ascher lacks imagination behind the camera and has an ability to gravitate towards subjects that demand more than a basic documentary toolkit to pull together...

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SXSW: The possibilities of documentary portraiture

by Cláudio Alves

Before saying goodbye to SXSW 2021, I'd like to shine a light on some of the documentaries presented at this online edition of the festival. As it happens, many of the most interesting films I saw from the selection were docs, specifically the sort of non-fiction cinema that functions as a portrait of the individual. At the very least, the sort that presents itself as such. From idiosyncratic political profiles to feats of music journalism, from straight biography to epistemological investigations, the filmmakers of SXSW showcased the possibilities of documentary portraiture…

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Showbiz History: Cinderella, Paris is Burning, and George MacKay

7 random things that happened on this day, March 13th, in history...

Olivia's first Oscar

1947 The 19th Academy Awards are held honoring the best films of 1946. The Best Years of Our Lives triumphs and remains one of the greatest decisions the Academy ever made in Best Picture. Meanwhile Fredric March picks up his second Best Actor Oscar (for the same film) and Olivia de Havilland picks up the first of her two Best Actress Oscars (for To Each His Own). "On the Atcheson Topeka and the Santa Fe" from the Judy Garland musical The Harvey Girls wins Best Song... 

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A Brief History of Documentaries competing in "Best Original Song

by Juan Carlos Ojano

One of the more interesting Oscar trends during the past decade is the increased presence of documentaries in the Best Original Song category. While most award-giving bodies have an aversion to recognizing docs outside of their own category, the Music branch of AMPAS has shown an openness to embrace them. At least in Best Original Song. Six of the eight songs from documentary films nominated came from the 2010s. 

Here is the list of eight docs nominated for Best Original Song (with only one winner so far) and this year's contenders...

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