Breaking News Press Release:
Beverly Hills, CA (November 18, 2009) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards®. Eighty-nine pictures had originally qualified in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:
- The Beaches of Agnes, Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
- Burma VJ, Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
- The Cove, Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
- Every Little Step, James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
- Facing Ali, Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
- Food, Inc., Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
- Garbage Dreams, Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
- Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
- Mugabe and the White African, Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
- Sergio, Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
- Soundtrack for a Revolution, Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
- Under Our Skin, Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
- Valentino The Last Emperor, Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
- Which Way Home, Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)
39 Responses for "Feature Documentary shortlist announced"
Maybe Moore will go back to good movie making for his next film.
Very clearly Food, Inc’s oscar or the Cove for that matter.
NO Anvil. B.S Was this a technicality did it become ineligible somehow?
CAPITALISM was terrific.
Moore has nothing to be
ashamed of and audiences who
saw it had a lot to learn from
it. I wish it had made the cut.
EVERY LITTLE STEP, tho fun to
watch, wasn’t as insightful
as I’d hoped.
Where in the *^*&^ is Anvil????? Are you kidding me? and no Tyson either????
I agree with #3 on “Every Little Step”. Good but not nearly as good as i expected it to be.
now i belive the tracher needs updating, best picture wont be happening..
Yeah, with this announcement, the Oscar chances for “Capitalism: A Love Story” are officially dead.
Yeah, where’s Capitalism? I thought it was a fantastic and interesting movie. The only problem I had with it was that it didn’t really give us any options as to what we could do about the problem. Too bad…
Capitalism, was a very important movie for the USA. Maybe we are not ready to that our system may be falling. True hurts.
It was a great movie deserving to be in nominated.
Capitalism and Anvil! were both released after the cutoff, August 31, and will be eligible next year.
Food Inc & The Cove clearly the front runners.
Now we have 3 spots. Let’s throw in Beach of Agnes for Agnes Varda’s sake. Now two.
I see: Valentino, Garbage Dreams, and Which way home.
Other predictions?
Im very pleased that The Beaches of Agnes is shortlisted. This film is an absolute wonder and has been praised everywhere it’d been released.
I would not be surprised if it appears in the final 5.
It is a long shot but Agnes Varda is highly respected (and she’s going to be 82, which makes the vitality and freshness of her works even more impressive).
The film also already won the French César for Best Documentary last year and is nominated at the European film awards.
I would love to see her at the ceremony, she’s a very funny woman.
wouldn’t be a shock to Michael Moore haters’ systems if CAPITALISM’s snub here was because Moore was focusing his attention on Best Picture (as he had done with FARENHEIT 9/11) and nabs THAT nomination!
A real shame about Racing Dreams…a real, real shame.
No Anvil…again, who picks this shortlist anyway? and on what grounds?
“…wouldn’t be a shock to Michael Moore haters’ systems if CAPITALISM’s snub here was because Moore was focusing his attention on Best Picture?”
and wouldn’t it be a double shock to the haters if Capitalism gets a Best Picture nomination anyway, in spite of the doc snub (in fact, as backlash against the snub.)
Kel,
If “Fahrenheit 9/11″ didn’t get a Best Picture nomination then “Capitalism” has no real shot. Now I didn’t like 9/11 or the historical fabrications in it (made all the more frustrating since you don’t need to make things up about GWB to make a strong case against him), but at least that movie made a ton of money and was loved by most audiences. “Capitalism” made weak money and was met with lukewarm reception. So I wouldn’t count on it too much.
So there’s an August 31st cut-off? Even if that’s the case, Anvil was completely snubbed because the movie (made last year) actually went into limited release in the US in April of this year.
It’s a bullshit call. I don’t feel sorry for Moore’s “Capitalism” as much as I do the makers of the story of Anvil. That movie alone had a definite impact on the band’s future (VH1 signed them to a contract, and they’re filling House of Blues venues everywhere on their new tour).
go food inc.! now where’s my tyson’s chicken pot pie!?
Anvil!
Tyson
Good Hair
Passing Strange
All very good or great movies that absolutely deserve to at least be considered for the award. To be fair, the only one on this list I’ve seen is Food Inc, which was fantastic, so maybe all of these other movies were brilliant, but I’m still disappointed.
Sweet! I just saw “Every Last Step” last night and I thought it was an amazing film. So energetic, so different, so electrifying, and so intoxicating. I recommend it to EVERYONE. Reminds me of the D.A. Pennebaker films (Oscar Nominee, and check him out at IMDB!) Don’t count this crowd lover out come oscar time.
So glad to see Every Little Step and Valentino on the list; two of my favorite movies of the year. Sad that Good Hair missed the cut, though not surprised.
wow. i cannot believe they left off capitalism: a love story, tyson and good hair as well! what a slap in the face. every year has a couple of insane omissions but i never expected capitalism to get the boot. I’m particularly upset and outraged about the absense of Anvil: The Story of Anvil. What an incredible film and it is a shame that the voters could not see that….let the ridiculous snubbing of the 2010 Oscars begin.
As a reminder, these were the International Documentary Award nominees last week:
Afghan Star
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Diary of a Times Square Thief
Food, Inc.
Mugabe and the White African
Michael Moore’s pulled out a turkey yet again!!!!
Just curious as to where We Live In Public falls in all of this – missed the cut off or snubbed?
Which Way Home was fabulous and should definitely be nominated too
Moore’s film is one of the best of the year. It’s omission is a mark against the meaning of the award.
Moore’s film should have been on that list. But if it is true about the August 31 deadline then there is nothing to be done. From the films on the list I would like to see either Food Inc or The Cove win (I am vegetarian environmentalist who doesn’t like capitalism).
Even if “Capitalism” deserved to be nominated (which it didn’t), this is the same people who failed to nominate “Hoop Dreams,” one of the best documentaries of all time. They also snubbed “Roger & Me” (which, for the record, I DO like). So this really should come as no surprise as the documentary award has historically proven to be the most fishy and least accurate award.
Tom, is PASSING STRANGE a documentary? I thought it was a filmed play.
I’m also upset about ANVIL not getting a nod, nor IT MIGHT GET LOUD, though I’m not surprised – they’re probably not “Important” enough, or just as likely, the Documentary Branch knows as much about music as the Music Branch. I’m more surprised CAPITALISM and COLLAPSE weren’t nominated.
I also have to echo the disappointment in EVERY LITTLE STEP. They should have concentrated more on the original play rather than the revival, which came off as no more insightful than watching an “American Idol” audition. I was interested only in the original cast and crew members involved in the revival, and the actor who eventually won the role of Paul. Everybody else was just presented in a rote fashion.
I’m disappointed about Anvil! especially since i thought that the documentary process and voting body were different than for other awards. A very bad sign of what lies ahead……….
Absolutely ELATED to see Sergio there.
This is The Cove’s to lose, but a nomination for Sergio will at least get some people to see it.
What a shame that one of the best movies of the year, Anvil, is missing, regardless of whether this is due to release cut-off or shameful snub.
Moron Rob, did you hear about the Aug cutoff?? He’ll be nominated in 2011, big deal. And WTF do you mean, another “turkey”??? He already won an Oscar, and was nominated for his previous work SICKO. He hasn’t made any turkeys, all his documentaries are either superb (BOWLING, FAHRENHEIT, SICKO, the show TV NATION) or very good (BIG ONE, ROGER), he just ruffles the feathers of blind & mindless sheepish right-wing turkeys like yourself.
You’re SUCH an embarassment it’s insane!
Fuck these people SO MUCH for snubbing Anvil. That’s all. Capitalism not being here is ridiculous as well.
Clearly going to be The Cove’s year this year. I’ve always seen the Best Documentary category as a bit of a joke – I mean, how on earth a film like March Of The Penguins can win over the great Murder Ball and Enron is still a baffling mystery. And how Super Size Me gets nominated, it’s just confusing. Once in a while they get it right – One Day In September, Fog Of War, Taxi To The Dark Side.
I can’t see a film like The Cove not walking away with this one – a film which is as much about environmental change as it is about espionage. Containing just as much tension as Man On Wire and such a well loved animal such as the Dolphin.
With this all said, I do find it extremely disappointing that The Burning Season and Tyson weren’t on this list. Whilst The Cove is all well and good for being a world changing film, The Burning Season is more emotional with its impact – and demanding of change as well.
Oh no they didn’t!
Seriously? Michael Moore left out… This one was shocking!
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