Shortlist for Oscars® Nominated Docu Features
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 90th Academy Awards®. One hundred seventy films were originally submitted in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Educational Films and WGBH/FRONTLINE.
Director Steve James
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States’ 2008 mortgage crisis.
Chasing Coral, Exposure Labs in partnership with The Ocean Agency & View Into the Blue in association with Argent Pictures & The Kendeda Fund. Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.
City of Ghosts, Our Time Projects and Jigsaw Productions. Directed by
Matthew Heineman
A documentary that follows the efforts of “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently,” a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014.
Ex Libris — The New York Public Library, Ex Libris Films. Directed by Frederick Wiseman
A look within the walls of the New York Public Library.
Faces Places, Ciné Tamaris. Directed by Agnes Varda
Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
Human Flow, Participant Media and AC Films. Directed by Ai Weiwei
Human Flow is director and artist Ai Weiwei’s detailed and heartbreaking exploration into the global refugee crisis.
Icarus, Netflix Documentary in association with Impact Partners, Diamond Docs, Chicago Media Project and Alex Productions. Directed by Bryan Fogel
When Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller involving dirty urine, unexplained death and Olympic Gold-exposing the biggest scandal in sports history.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Paramount Pictures and Participant Media. Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth (2006) brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution.
Jane, National Geographic Studios in association with Public Road Productions. Directed by Brett Morgen
Using a trove of unseen footage, the film tells the story of Jane Goodall’s early explorations, focusing on her groundbreaking field work, her relationship with cameraman and husband Hugo van Lawick, and the chimpanzees that she studied.
LA 92, Lightbox. Directed by Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin
Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, filmmakers examine that tumultuous period through rarely seen archival footage.
Last Men in Aleppo, Larm Film. Directed by Firas Fayyad, Steen Johannessen, Hasan Kattan
After five years of war in Syria, Aleppo’s remaining residents prepare themselves for a siege. Khalid, Subhi and Mahmoud, founding members of The White Helmets, have remained in the city to help their fellow citizens-and experience daily life, death, struggle and triumph in a city under fire.
Long Strange Trip, Double E Pictures, AOMA Sunshine Films and Sikelia. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev
A look at the 30-year career of The Grateful Dead.
One of Us, Loki Films. Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Penetrating the insular world of New York’s Hasidic community, focusing on three individuals driven to break away despite threats of retaliation.
Strong Island, Yanceville Films and Louverture Films. Directed by Yance Ford
Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re-imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change.
Unrest, Shella Films and Little by Little Films. Directed by Jennifer Brea.
When Harvard Ph.D. student Jennifer Brea is struck down by a fever that leaves her bedridden, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story as she fights a disease that medicine forgot.
The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The 90th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
