Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Oscar Documentary Short List has been announced

Earlier today the reduced list of eligible documentaries for this year’s Oscar was released and it cut the total number of films down to 15. I think those of us at Unseen have seen all but 2 of the films and we’ve reviewed 6 of the films (click on the titles for our reviews).

It’s largely a good list with only the Pussy Riot film being a head scratcher for me, since it’s not even close to the other films on the list I’ve seen. Because of the Oscar rules the list doesn’t include many of the documentaries I would put on my short list from this year(Many of the films from DOC NYC for example). That said, any speculation as to what is going to end up on the final list is utterly pointless since the winner will be The Act of Killing (assuming the Academy doesn’t leave it off). The Act of Killing is far and away the best of this bunch.

For those curious about the 15 films on the short list here’s the semifinalists:

The semi-semi-finalists are, in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:
The Act of Killing,” Final Cut for Real
“The Armstrong Lie,” The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Blackfish,” Our Turn Productions
The Crash Reel,” KP Rides Again
Cutie and the Boxer,” Ex Lion Tamer and Cine Mosaic
Dirty Wars,” Civic Bakery
“First Cousin Once Removed,” Experiments in Time, Light & Motion
“God Loves Uganda,” Full Credit Productions
“Life According to Sam,” Fine Films
“Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” Roast Beef Productions
“The Square,” Noujaim Films and Maktube Productions
Stories We Tell,” National Film Board of Canada
Tim’s Vermeer,” High Delft Pictures
“20 Feet from Stardom,” Gil Friesen Productions and Tremolo Productions
“Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington,” Tripoli Street

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