With the unveiling of the Academy’s shortlists, we now know the final 15 films in contention for Best Documentary Feature. There were a few notable snubs, particularly critical darling Orwell: 2+2=5, International Documentary Association winner The Tale of Silyan, and Gotham and Critics Choice nominee Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
The Perfect Neighbor is halfway to breaking the Critics Choice Documentary Awards winner curse by landing a shortlist mention, but can it go further and land a nomination? It’s currently dominating wins with the critics groups, but we all know that can mean absolutely nothing, especially in this category. I’m still not ready to move it into my final five, but my mind could shift over the next month.
The five-and-a-half-hour epic My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow scored wins with both the Los Angeles and New York film critics groups and at the Gotham Awards before it landed on the Academy’s shortlist. Will its exhaustive running time work for it or against it? For now, it sneaks into my top five, but this is always one of the toughest categories to predict in terms of the final nominees.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. 2000 Meters to Andriivka (PBS Distribution) – CCA, CEH, Gotham, PGA
2. Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix) – CCA, IDA
3. Cover-Up (Netflix) – CCA, CEH, IDA Special Mention, PGA
4. Seeds (TBD) – CEH, IDA
5. My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow (Argot Pictures) – Gotham
IN CONTENTION
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max) – CCA, PGA
Coexistence, My Ass! (mTuckman Media)
Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple Original Films) – CEH
Cutting through Rocks (TBD)
Folktales (Magnolia Pictures)
Holding Liat (Film Forum)
Mistress Dispeller (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (ZDF/Arte) – PGA
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – CCA, Gotham, PGA
Yanuni (TBD)
