Doc Corner: The 2019 Oscar Nominees!
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 12:00PM By Glenn Dunks (returning from a writing break, I hope y'all missed me)
Following last year’s surprising line-up for Best Documentary Feature that ignored multiple major box office hits and favoured critical and festival hits, I asked how much the Academy’s changing dynamics had affected the nominations in this category that was often considered a musty piece of furniture. It was undeniable that a significant shift had been made and I am thankful to say that it wasn’t a fluke. The 2019 nominations for documentary have yet again marked the branch as one on its own course through the greater Oscar season narrative. A narrative that is otherwise marked by predictability, a distinct lack of adventurousness, and even outright laziness.
This year’s nominees took us from the bombs and missiles of a warzone of Syria (two times! The Cave and For Sama) to the silent beekeeping traditions of North Macedonia (Honeyland), through the muddy democratic waters of Brazil (The Edge of Democracy) and the blue collar working yards of America's midwest (American Factory). They represent American and international filmmaking at their finest made by newcomers and veterans alike...
Beginning with the prediction side of things, I correctly predicted three out of the five nominees. I wish I had stuck to my guns on Petra Costa’s stunning The Edge of Democracy, my favourite doc of 2019. I had initially assumed it was an obvious given for the nomination way back in July, but the precursors' aversion to it for whatever reason made me question my own assumptions. I’m glad I was wrong. I wasn’t wrong on Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s American Factory and Feras Fayyad’s The Cave. I did not expect, however, the double nod for the two competing Syrian docs, expecting the jagged edges of For Sama to be pushed out in favour of One Child Nation. I’m less a fan of Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts’ video diary doc than most, but I hope this means something for al-Kateab’s future as a female documentarian from the Middle East.
And, lastly, of course, is that double nomination for Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov's Honeyland (it's also in the International lineup). A moment of history that distributor Neon should be proud of. I was on the money with that prediction, at least.
Less of a success for the relatively new distributor was the absence of Apollo 11. For obvious reasons, this has been the category’s biggest—and strangest—omission. Some have suggested the voters were deliberately leaving it off their ballots so that it couldn’t sail to an easy victory. Others have pointed out that the Academy is skittish on docs built entirely out of archival footage. A feat of editing, perhaps, more than documenting—what excuse does that leave the editing branch who should know better than to have ignored non-fiction cinema in their category for decades now.
The snub, if that’s what you want to call it, does come on the heels of both Jane and Won’t You Be My Neighbor missing out on nominations so make of that what you will. I am a big fan of the movie, but I don’t feel particularly upset by its absence. That people went and saw it is more than most documentary filmmakers can say and director Todd Douglas Miller will no doubt get to the ceremony one day. I had been rooting for Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s One Child Nation, but one can chalk that alongside The Farewell as another Asia-focused film that couldn’t stick the landing with voters.
While many will be upset that Apollo 11, the highest-grossing doc of the year, didn’t make it in, this year’s batch is one of its strongest. Anybody who actually sits down and watches these five will surely find it hard to quibble. But, then again, I say that every year and people still think the branch perverse for their idiosyncratic whims. In the face of everything, the Academy’s documentary branch has once again thought for themselves and gone their own way. They have nominated four female directors across four films with female central protagonists. And if American Factory wins as I suspect it will (and have done since I saw it, even when Apollo 11 was the frontrunner), a deserved win it will be for four-time nominee Julie Reichert and her co-nominees Steven Bognar and Jeff Reichert. Although who knows what will happen next—that's part of why this category is so good!
Here’s hoping for another year of great documentaries and unexpected delights!
Reader Comments (16)
I have never been this behind with this category. I feel so ashamed.
The Cave will be on the National Geographic channel on 1/25
Thanks, ken - it's the one I still need to see in this category. I'm sad for One Child Nation, which really deserved a nod, but my favorite all season has been American Factory. It would make a great double feature with Minding the Gap - the two best portrayals I've seen of the modern Rust Belt.
Glenn, we all missed you! I'm glad Nathaniel makes space for docs here, even though they're not a particular interest of his.
Apollo 11's snub speaks to the bias against documentaries comprised primarily of archival footage. That same predilection hurt the campaign for Maiden, my favorite documentary of the year.
The Oscars seem to have turned on the money-making frontrunners lately, with Apollo joining Won't You Be My Neighbor's snub last year.
Jules, that makes me feel good to hear so thank you! I was worn out...
whunk, but then FREE SOLO and RBG had both made over $10mil. I'd argue that WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR is a very average movie and its absence from the nominations and its inevitable win if it had have been nominated were good for the category and the form.
American Factory would get my vote. But honestly, as you note, these nominees are all wonderful. Not a loser in the bunch. I don't like the expansion of the Best Picture category. I would expand this category to more than 5. If the Academy really wants to promote film, they should do it everywhere, including here and in Foreign Language Film.
I saw 4 of the 5 nominees this year. I usually miss seeing the docs, shorts, and international entirely. This year, I actually saw a lot of those film. The Cave is the only documentary I'm waiting to see. This was a good bunch. As of right now, my vote would go to Honeyland.
@Glenn: True, there were a lot of moneymakers in the last few years. But I do think Neighbor was considered the frontrunner over RBG and Free Solo until nominations came out. I also agree it wasn't anything special. Another snub that comes to mind is Jane from a few years back.
We all know they will want the Obamas on stage, so why did they even nominate 4 other films? This is An Inconvenient Truth redux... back then, Al Gore... now, the Obamas. I am kind of happy I won't be able to see the Oscar night?
Two yrs ago, they also snubbed ano frontrunner, Jane.
Guess the Documentary branch really hate docu using archival footages, critical acclaims be damn!!
@Jesus Alonso: Maybe next year they can give tRump an honorary Oscar so you can be happy.
Ugh, got to take some time and catch some of these! Honeyland and Edge of Democracy in particular.
whunk... people can be so hilarious... so, if I do not like the Obamas or Gore, then I have to be one of the MAGA bunch? LMAO. No, I am actually on the left, and find all them (including Trump) part of the grand guignol of capitalism, equally worthless of any praise.
Streaming on Netflix:
AMERICAN FACTORY
EDGE OF DEMOCRACY
Streaming on Prime:
FOR SAMA
Streaming on Hulu:
HONEYLAND
Is THE CAVE easily available anywhere?
SanFran, THE CAVE will be on NatGeo this month, I think.
Regarding the Obamas, they are NOT nominated. A lot of people seem to think they are, but they were just executive producers. They did not earn a nomination for this.