AMPAS announced the shortlist of contenders for Best Documentary Feature today. It's a tough list to comment on because I've seen so few and heard of even fewer of these movies. In fact, I've only seen two of the eligible movies - Project Nim and Bill Cunningham New York - and while they're both extremely worthy entrants, I can't knowledgeably comment on how they stand up to the rest of the competition (though Project Nim seems like an obvious winner, to me).What I can comment on is the omission of some high-profile titles, most notably Academy favorite Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a 3-D journey into the Chauvet caves that was a bit meandering for my taste but found critical and commercial acclaim. More disappointing to me is the absence of Page One: Inside the New York Times, a compelling look at how the instant news of the internet is affecting one of the country's journalistic institutions, and Life in a Day. I'm wondering if Life in a Day was ineligible for some reason, but I can't seem to find any evidence that it was. Hopefully it will get nominated for its impressive editing, though I'm not holding my breath.
Five nominees will be chosen from the following:
-Battle for Brooklyn
-Bill Cunningham New York
-Buck
-Hell and Back Again
-If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
-Jane's Journey
-The Loving Story
-Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
-Pina
-Project Nim
-Semper Fi: Always Faithful
-Sing Your Song
-Undefeated
-Under Fire: Journalists in Combat
-We Were Here
Life in a Day not making the cut probably had to do with how it was shown. Its Sundance premiere was accompanied by a premiere on YouTube at the same time - I know because I saw it on YouTube - and I believe that's what may have killed its eligibility.
ReplyDeleteI suspected as much. Thanks for the input!
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