DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Autism Is a World
The Children of Leningradsky
Hardwood
Mighty Times: The Children’s March
Sister Rose’s Passion
Will Win: Sister Rose’s Passion
Should Win: Mighty Times: The Children’s March
Murderer’s Row (the name I give to the Short Film and Doc Awards) continues (and, in this case, concludes) with Doc Short Subject. I feel like the feature docs are getting easier to predict, so they don’t scare me as much. Besides, I’ve actually seen (or at least heard of) some of them this time. But back to the short docs.
Sister Rose’s Passion is about a nun fighting anti-Semitism in the church and, in particular, the notion that the Jews were responsible for killing Jesus. In a year where many stayed away from The Passion for that very association, this is too tempting a vote.
Mighty Times is actually part of a series that appears to be covering the civil rights movement. Another installment about Rosa Parks was nominated a few years back. Sounds like an interesting project, and I’d like to see it get some love.
Again, haven’t seen any of these.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Born into Brothels
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Super Size Me
Tupac: Resurrection
Twist of Faith
Will Win: Born into Brothels
Should Win: Fahrenheit 9/11
Born into Brothels has gotten the most critical love here. Super Size Me might be a spoiler, but its buzz came and went earlier in the year. Tupac might make an interesting choice, but the brothers and sisters have got enough with Morgan, Don, Jamie (twice) and Sophie (not to mention Chris hosting). Let’s not go crazy here.
Michael, Michael, Michael. Don’t you realize that if you’d allowed the Academy to run this as a doc nom you’d be in? Yours is just about the only documentary any critic’s circle picked for Best Doc. You’d be a shoo-in. No one expects you to go up there and make a fool of yourself again, and given the outcome of the last election a lot of people in the audience might welcome it.
Article comments
1 - Bill Lamb
Good analysis, except...
Best Documentary Feature is definitely no longer an award nobody cares about. Documentaries are the huge thing now in the wake of the success of Michael Moore and "Super Size Me" this past summer as a boxoffice hit.
2 - David Thomas
Excellent point. I, in fact, wanted to call this "The awards nobody cares about (except for Doc) but (a) that title was too long and (b) I was convinced somebody would ask, "Who's Doc?" But your point is well taken.
3 - brandon
Dave,
Loved what you had to say about "The awards that no one cares about". And here I thought "I" was the only straight black guy that watches the Oscars. We gots ta stick together! Can't wait to see part 2
-BFG
4 - Aaman
Salon is having an online festival of the short films nominated for the Oscars - very cool. Most of us would not get the chance to see these films otherwise.(Link to short films festival at Salon)
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks for this series Dave, great job - all of our writers are encouraged to weigh in with Oscar stories, including live coverage. We're a news source now.
6 - DrPat
Great psychic work, David, and what cojones to admit you pick from a field "sight unseen"!
I'd only take exception to the "should win" documentary, on the premise that a documentary should not be so completely fictional...