Oscars: The Documentary Shortlist Announced

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has revealed the shortlist for the Best Documentary Feature category at this year's Oscars.  Of the 15 films on the shortlist, five will compete to win the prestigious prize.  The list includes some of the year's most buzzed-about docs, including the Weinstein Company's Bully; The Invisible War, about the lack of repercussions for rape that occurs in the military; and the feel-good music documentary Searching for Sugar Man, my current favorite of the year.

A few notable absences: The Queen of Versailles, The Central Park Five (which won Best Documentary from the NYFCC this morning), and Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

The shortlist:

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.

My first stab at guessing the eventual nominees:
How to Survive a Plague
The Imposter
The Invisible War
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Searching for Sugar Man