Doc Corner: Fun facts about the Best Documentary finalists

By Glenn Dunks

Elizabeth Chai Vasarheyi & Jimmy Chin won just 4 years ago with "Free Solo". They're back again with "The Rescue"

Cutting a list down from 138 to 15 is always going to be a daunting and even cruel task, but the shortlist is here for Best Documentary Feature so it is the end of the line for 123 of this year’s non-fiction works. I have been churning through a very long list of titles before even contemplating doing my Top 25 Documentaries list, but I can say that my personal list is looking very different.

AMPAS has selected the following titles to battle it out for a nomination and then the Oscar statue...

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Doc Corner: 'One Child Nation' is an Oscar Frontrunner

By Glenn Dunks

When introducing One Child Nation at a recent screening at the Sydney Film Festival, co-director Zhang Lynn noted that all of the Chinese crew were of the generation born to the nation’s one child policy. For both Lynn and her directing partner Nanfu Wang, this searing documentary is clearly more than just an examination of their homeland’s shameful history, but a personal exorcism of sorts. A cleansing for themselves and their subjects, many of whom Wang and Zhang force to confront the demons that have haunted them for decades.

With just two films to her credit about China, Wang has become an important name in the documenting of contemporary Chinese society...

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