The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences has announced the shortlist of films eligible to be nominated for this year’s Academy Awards in the category of Best Documentary Feature. The list of 15 titles was winnowed down from a record 101 eligible films.
The list is the usual grab bag of expected titles and some surprises. The appearance of Inside Job, Waiting For Superman, Restrepo, Client 9, Gasland and The Tillman Story aren’t entirely unexpected. A bit of a surprise is seeing Exit Through The Gift Shop on the list, as I would have thought it might be a little too eclectic for the Academy’s tastes.
Of course, there are a some documentaries popular with both audiences and critics that didn’t make the cut this year including The Oath, A Film Unfinished, La Danse, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and Best Worst Movie.
The complete list of potential nominees is as follows –
- Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer – Alex Gibney, director
- Enemies Of The People – Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors
- Exit Through The Gift Shop – Banksy, director
- Gasland – Josh Fox, director
- Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould – Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors
- Inside Job – Charles Ferguson, director
- The Lottery – Madeleine Sackler, director
- Precious Life – Shlomi Eldar, director
- Quest For Honor – Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director
- Restrepo – Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors
- This Way Of Life – Thomas Burstyn, director
- The Tillman Story – Amir Bar-Lev, director
- Waiting For Superman – Davis Guggenheim, director
- Waste Land – Lucy Walker, director
- William Kunstler: Disturbing The Universe – Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, directors
