List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

For the films of 2019
Post Reply
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

Knock Down the House
Never goes beyond baseline competence as filmmaking, and like a Dinesh D'Souza film, it never tries to appeal to anyone who doesn't already agree with its thesis. Bad movie, doubt it gets nominated, although I guess it has an outside shot.

For Sama
A loving, humane approach to a horrific subject. Waad al-Khateab chronicles five years of her life, going through what seem like normal, everyday milestones: Falling in love, getting married, becoming a mother. These milestones occur against the backdrop of the Syrian Civil War, where al-Khateab's husband works at a hospital in Aleppo as doctor, and al-Khateab narrates the film as a letter to her daughter. It's a tough documentary: we often see people rushed into the hospital with very little explanation of who they are or what's happened to them (an appropriate choice, I think); some live, some die, the camera shows both scenarios multiple times, and never in a way that feels gross or exploitative. It's often a hard film to sit through, but al-Khateab includes multiple moments of grace throughout, sometimes in the very midst of tragedy. Easily the best of the Documentary Feature contenders I've seen so far, and probably has a really good shot at being nominated.
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

One Child Nation
China's One Child Policy was a national shame that had international ramifications--we all knew that adoptions from Chinese "orphanages" were the result of this policy, but very few people knew, or wanted to know, exactly how those children ended up in "orphanages": Almost none of the children were orphans, most were trafficked, and in many cases children were forcibly removed from their homes. Women were often forced to undergo sterilizations and abortions. This is not cinematically groundbreaking, but it's very well done; Wang interviews a lot of elderly Chinese people who "had no choice" in following the government policy and did some extremely vile things in pursuit of that policy, but she never frames or questions the subjects in a judgmental way. It's a tough watch, but I think it probably has a decent shot at making the final five.
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

Not shortlisted but on Netflix -- Echo in the Canyon
I suppose it could be a worthwhile introduction to classic rock and its history, but it has zero point-of-view on its subject(s), and ultimately plays like a vanity project for Jakob Dylan, who interviews several people from the Laurel Canyon music scene, sits around and discusses late 60's music with his friends and then they record and perform covers of songs of the era. I've liked some of Dylan's music in the past, but he's always made it clear that he prefers a private life with his family when he's not performing and recording, and I think it shows in that he is absolutely not a charismatic or probing interviewer. "It was fun getting high." "You felt like you could do anything." "The power of music is undeniable." Yawn.
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

The Biggest Little Farm
Some good images, brought down by a narration that seems to be out of one of those dog-P.O.V. movies, and by just cloying tone in general. Which to be fair, I think they were going for, and I think others may respond to better than me. The music, the relentlessly up beat tone, the absence of general conflict--it all appears to be an intentional choice on the part of director (and subject) John Chester. Ultimately feels like a film that Chester might have put together to try to encourage potential investors for his farm. Probably has a decent shot of being nominated though, although it wouldn't surprise me to see it left off.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:
dws1982 wrote:Where (n the US, at least) to watch the shortlisted films:

And if you want to catch a few of the non-shortlisted ones:
"One Child Nation" - Amazon Prime
One Child Nation is on the shortlist as is Midnight Family (1091 Media) which debuted at Sundance and has played various other festivals, opening in NYC at the Metrograph on 12/6.

Both titles were left off of Precious Doll's original list.
Yes, one I copy the list from the Academy's sight I missed the but two without realising I'd done so. Odd the list finishes at 'O' though, its like they didn't bother watching the rest of the films.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19319
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by Big Magilla »

dws1982 wrote:Where (n the US, at least) to watch the shortlisted films:

And if you want to catch a few of the non-shortlisted ones:
"One Child Nation" - Amazon Prime
One Child Nation is on the shortlist as is Midnight Family (1091 Media) which debuted at Sundance and has played various other festivals, opening in NYC at the Metrograph on 12/6.

Both titles were left off of Precious Doll's original list.
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

Where (n the US, at least) to watch the shortlisted films:

“Advocate” - Film Movement is the distributor, and apparently plans a theatrical release sometime next year
“American Factory” - Available on Netflix.
“The Apollo” - Available on HBO's streaming services.
“Apollo 11” - Available to stream on Hulu; available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc.
“Aquarela” - Available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc.
“The Biggest Little Farm” - Available to stream on Hulu; available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc.
“The Cave” - National Geographic is the distributor, gave it a 4 theater release; no word on when it'll be available to rent or stream, although NatGeo films often end up on Hulu
“The Edge of Democracy” - Netflix
“For Sama” - Kanopy if your library takes part in that, or on PBS's website/app, under the Frontline series.
“The Great Hack” - Netflix
“Honeyland” - Available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc.; should be available to stream on Hulu at some point during Oscar season
“Knock Down the House” - Netflix
“Maiden” - Available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc.; As this was a Sony Pictures Classics release, this is not going to show up streaming for free on Netflix anytime soon (their films still go to Starz), so you'll probably need to bite the bullet and rent this if it gets nominated.

And if you want to catch a few of the non-shortlisted ones (this is not a comprehensive list...just the ones I've looked up, because I've been wide awake since 3:00 AM and I have to find something to do):
"Ask Dr. Ruth" - Hulu
"At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal" - HBO
"The Bronx USA" - HBO
"Cold Case Hammarskjold" - Available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, etc; coming to Hulu on Thursday
"Echo in the Canyon" - Netflix
"Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened" - Netflix
"Meeting Gorbachev" - Hulu
"One Child Nation" - Amazon Prime
"Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese" - Netflix
"Tell Me Who I Am" - Netflix
"Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am" - Hulu
"Wrestle" - Kanopy, or rent on Amazon, iTunes, etc.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by Precious Doll »

Well I was right that none of my favourites would make the shortlist. Can't say that I have much interest in most of this films listed but do have Wrestle in my Amazon cart on dws' recommendation.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
dws1982
Emeritus
Posts: 3791
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 9:28 pm
Location: AL
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by dws1982 »

Wish Wrestle could've survived the cut.
FilmFan720
Emeritus
Posts: 3650
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 3:57 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by FilmFan720 »

Precious Doll wrote:Shortlisted:

“Advocate”
“American Factory”
“The Apollo”
“Apollo 11”
“Aquarela”
“The Biggest Little Farm”
“The Cave”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“The Great Hack”
“Honeyland”
“Knock Down the House”
“Maiden”
Plus Midnight Family and One Child Nation.
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by Precious Doll »

Shortlisted:

“Advocate”
“American Factory”
“The Apollo”
“Apollo 11”
“Aquarela”
“The Biggest Little Farm”
“The Cave”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“The Great Hack”
“Honeyland”
“Knock Down the House”
“Maiden”
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
anonymous1980
Laureate
Posts: 6377
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:03 pm
Location: Manila
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by anonymous1980 »

Tell Me Who I Am (Ed Perkins) 8/10 - This is a documentary about twin brothers, one of whom suffered memory loss after a bad motorcycle accident only knowing and recognizing that he had a twin brother. With no memory of his past, his brother paints idyllic childhood memories but....well, any further information than that is spoiling it. Suffice to say, what starts out as a being fascinating look into the connection between twins and affects of amnesia and memory loss, it turns into something dark and quite upsetting and even traumatizing to some people. The result will surely invite discussions and give the viewers much to chew on. This one is on Netflix. It is not an easy sit but you will be kind of glad you did it.

Can it get in? Possible. But this is a feel-bad documentary that doesn't have much big buzz going for it. Getting in is difficult but possible but winning would be an uphill battle.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by Precious Doll »

I know none of the ones that I really like have a hope in hell:

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love
Hail, Satan!
When Tomatoes Met Wagner

Though Ask Dr. Ruth and/or The End of Democracy may sneak in.

There are a few of the list that I'm eager to see like:

The Kingmaker
Meeting Gorbachev
Where's My Roy Cohn?

I will get around to American Factory soon primarily because the Sep/Oct issue of Film Comment had a feature on so its got me curious.

I liked XY Chelsea & One Child Nation but neither deserve to be in consideration and I was bored out of my mind watching Apollo 11 which I only saw because my partner wanted to see it. I started out loathing Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese but warmed to some degree it as it moved along.

Diego Maradona was a trial to sit through and lacks the narrative drive that propelled the directors earlier works Senna & Amy.

And finally Gaza stands a better chance in this category than it does in the Foreign Language category.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
anonymous1980
Laureate
Posts: 6377
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:03 pm
Location: Manila
Contact:

Re: List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by anonymous1980 »

My reviews for the contenders I've seen so far:

FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (Chris Smith) 7.5/10 - I've heard about this incident and was amused by it but never really knew what the hell exactly went on. This dropped on Netflix (I don't have a Hulu account so the competing other documentary on the same subject matter would have to wait) so I decided to check it out. Wow. It is an unbelievable kind of believable story of a music festival that was doomed to fail before it even began. It is a film which really takes a look on the effect of social media, materialism and the importance of image and hype in modern society. It's compelling stuff.

Can it get in? It could get in the Top 15 but not a lock for the final five.

Knock Down the House (Rachel Lears) 7/10 - I saw this Netflix. It's a documentary about a group of women running for public office despite the fact that they're not career politicians and are total outsiders. One of them is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is an interesting enough documentary despite the fact that I already know the ending and I already agree with its politics. You know, it just made me like Ocasio-Cortez even more to see her full, passionate and downright infectious idealism, strength and sincerity. The film will not break new ground or change minds but it's a good watch nevertheless.

Can it get in? It's not out of the question. But it depends on how people feel about AOC. The doc itself is unremarkable. It could get in the Top 15.

The Great Hack (Karim Amer/Jehane Noujaim) 8/10 - Oh, I didn't know Michael Bay had a biopic out! Haha. Now with that out of the way, this is actually a rather scary and eye-opening documentary on Cambridge Analytica, an data mining organization that targeted Facebook users and was said to be key in the shocking victories of both Donald Trump and Brexit. I knew about the story but this film really goes into the nitty-gritty, introducing us to the whistle-blowers and the people behind this nefarious organization. It really makes you think about what you put on line and what type of information you are getting and of course whether or not you are susceptible to fake news and targeted advertising. It's on Netflix so I highly recommend people check it out.

Can it get in? Absolutely. This is probably the most incendiary documentary I've seen so far. It can get a lot of votes. It could get in the Top 5.

American Factory (Steven Bognar/Julia Reichert) 7.5/10 - A General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio is saved by a Chinese company but conflicting, incompatible work ethics and other problems start to emerge. I saw this one on Netflix. I was hesitant at first because I thought it was kind of a dry, decidedly un-sexy subject matter. Yes, it kind of starts out that way but then it goes into some unexpected but not really on hindsight directions that are fascinating to watch. Both the Chinese and American workers were actually given a fair treatment. But once again, to nobody's surprise, the corporations, both Chinese and American, are the bad guys (produced by the Obamas, fair warning to any conservatives reading this). It sometimes feels like a Michael Moore movie without Michael Moore, and depending on where you stand politically that can be either compliment or a slam (for me, it's the former). But overall, it's really worth checking out.

Can it get in? Yes, it's very possible. The timeliness of this piece will get it a lot of votes. It could get in the Top 5.
anonymous1980
Laureate
Posts: 6377
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:03 pm
Location: Manila
Contact:

List of eligible contenders for Best Documentary Feature

Post by anonymous1980 »

The Academy just unveiled the 159 contenders that are eligible for Best Documentary Feature:

“Advocate”
“After Parkland”
“The All-Americans”
“Always in Season”
“The Amazing Johnathan Documentary”
“American Dharma”
“American Factory”
“American Relapse”
“Angels Are Made of Light”
“The Apollo”
“Apollo 11”
“Aquarela”
“Ask Dr. Ruth”
“At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal”
“Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable”
“The Biggest Little Farm”
“The Black Godfather”
“Blink of an Eye”
“Blowin’ Up”
“Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes”
“The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story”
“Bridges of Time”
“The Brink”
“Broken Dreams”
“The Bronx USA”
“Bruno Sammartino”
“Buddha in Africa”
“Call Me Intern”
“Carmine Street Guitars”
“The Cave”
“Chasing Einstein”
“Cinema Morocco”
“Citizen K”
“The Cold Blue”
“Cold Case Hammarskjold”
“Combat Obscura”
“The Cordillera of Dreams”
“Cracked Up”
“Cunningham”
“David Crosby: Remember My Name”
“Debut”
“Diego Maradona”
“The Disappearance of My Mother”
“Don’t Be Nice”
“Echo in the Canyon”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“The Elephant Queen”
“Emanuel”
“Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops”
“Fantastic Fungi”
“#Female Pleasure”
“Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles”
“Fiddlin’”
“Finding Farideh”
“Finding the Way Home”
“5B”
“For Sama”
“For the Birds”
“Foster”
“The Fourth Kingdom. The Kingdom of Plastics”
“Framing John DeLorean”
“Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened”
“The Game Changers”
“Gay Chorus Deep South”
“Gaza”
“Ghost Fleet”
“The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash”
“The Gospel of Eureka”
“The Great Hack”
“Hail Satan?”
“Halston”
“Hate among Us”
“Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel”
“Heimat Is a Space in Time”
“Hesburgh”
“Honeyland”
“Hope Frozen”
“The Hottest August”
“Humberto Mauro”
“I Had a Dream”
“Immortal”
“The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley”
“It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It”
“Janani’s Juliet”
“Jawline”
“Jay Myself”
“Jim Allison: Breakthrough”
“Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People”
“The Kingmaker”
“Knock Down the House”
“Letter to the Editor”
“Liberty: Mother of Exiles”
“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”
“Love, Antosha”
“M for Malaysia”
“Maiden”
“Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound”
“Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love”
“Meeting Gorbachev”
“Midnight Family”
“Midnight Traveler”
“Mike Wallace Is Here”
“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”
“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”
“The Most Dangerous Year”
“Mosul”
“Moti Bagh”
“My Home India”
“My Name Is Daniel”
“On the President’s Orders”
“One Child Nation”
“Pavarotti”
“The Proposal”
“Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz”
“Q Ball”
“The Quiet One”
“Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins”
“Reason/Vivek”
“Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project”
“Reinventing Rosalee”
“The Rememberer”
“The River and the Wall”
“Roll Red Roll”
“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese”
“Running with Beto”
“The Russian Five”
“Satan & Adam”
“Scandalous”
“Sea of Shadows”
“Serendipity”
“The Serengeti Rules”
“Shooting the Mafia”
“16 Bars”
“16 Shots”
“The Spy behind Home Plate”
“Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken”
“Talking about Trees”
“Tell Me Who I Am”
“Tesla Nation”
“This Changes Everything”
“This One’s for the Ladies”
“Tigerland”
“To Be of Service”
“Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am”
“True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality”
“A Tuba to Cuba”
“Walking on Water”
“Watson”
“Western Stars”
“What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael”
“What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”
“When Lambs Become Lions”
“When Tomatoes Met Wagner”
“Where’s My Roy Cohn?”
“Who Will Write Our History”
“Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation”
“Wrestle”
“XY Chelsea”
“Ximei”

The 15 semifinalists that will be shortlisted for official Oscar nominations will be announced on December 16.
Post Reply

Return to “92nd Academy Awards”