Variety reports that the IDFA has become a key stop on the Oscars campaign trail for documentaries, thanks to its late-fall timing and strong programming showcasing the year’s top nonfiction titles.
Academy executive Michael Benedict attended this year’s event to outline eligibility, submission rules, and campaigning guidelines for the Best Documentary Feature race. Benedict also emphasized that documentaries are eligible not just in their own category but across craft categories and even Best Picture — something the Academy has never achieved.
Can you believe that in the Academy’s 97-year history, no documentary has ever been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar? Odds are that streak will continue next year, unless “The Perfect Neighbor” or “2000 Meters to Andriivka” somehow pull off a surprise nomination — don’t bet on it.
Which docs have come closest over the decades, especially if there had been a ten-nominee field? There was some backlash in the ’80s when Errol Morris’ “The Thin Blue Line” and Michael Moore’s “Roger & Me” — both hailed as among the best films of their years — were snubbed. Archived think pieces from that era, particularly about Morris’ work, argued for documentary inclusion in the Best Picture lineup.
This century, Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” should have been nominated in 2002. Other near-misses include “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2004) and “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006), which, despite box-office success, never made the cut.
Harvey Weinstein mounted a major campaign for “Fahrenheit 9/11”: it won the Palme d’Or, grossed over $100M domestically, and arrived amid growing mainstream opposition to the Iraq War. It likely would have been nominated if the ten-nominee rule had existed then.
It remains a glaring hole that no documentary has ever been recognized in Best Picture, especially in the 21st century, when nonfiction filmmaking has become increasingly prominent, with Netflix further boosting visibility. Why does the Academy continue to overlook non-fiction films? Is it because they don’t dominate the cultural conversation as much? Or because many critics continue to ignore them? The fact remains that voters are still largely confining documentaries to their own category.
Just this century, standout docs deserving Best Picture nods include “O.J. Made in America,” “Grizzly Man,” “Bowling for Columbine,” “This Is Not a Film,” “Capturing the Friedmans,” “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” “Faces Places,” “The Act of Killing,” “Citizenfour,” and “Cameraperson.”
What are your picks?