Oscar Reveals Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature

The Imposter

The race is heating up! The New York Film Critics gave out the first awards of the season, with Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty winning Best Film and Best Director. (Full list here.) While the NY critics might foretell the Oscar for Best Picture, their choice for Best Documentary will not influence the race. Central Park Five was largely considered the frontrunner in that category, and seemed on its way when it nabbed the prize from the NYFCC, but it failed to make the shortlist of docs moving forward in the Oscar race. With 126 films to compete against in a strong year for documentaries, Central Park Five made room for some other strong contenders. I'm especially glad that The Imposter made the list, along with a few other of my favourite docs this year! (Note: Stories We Tell  is eligible next year.) Congrats also go out to Detropia's Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who made both documentary shortlists this year, with The Education of Mohammad Hussein appearing on the previously announced list for Best Documentary Short. The full list, via Indiewire, reads: 

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Never Sorry LLC
Bully, The Bully Project LLC
Chasing Ice, Exposure
Detropia, Loki Films
Ethel, Moxie Firecracker Films
5 Broken Cameras, Guy DVD Films
The Gatekeepers, Les Films du Poisson, Dror Moreh Productions, Cinephil
The House I Live In, Charlotte Street Films, LLC
How to Survive a Plague, How to Survive a Plague LLC
The Imposter, Imposter Pictures Ltd.
The Invisible War, Chain Camera Pictures
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Jigsaw Productions in association with
       Wider Film Projects and Below the Radar Films

Searching for Sugar Man, Red Box Films 
This Is Not a Film, Wide Management 
The Waiting Room, Open’hood, Inc.