"Best documentary has become the toughest Oscar category to predict in recent years, especially when it comes to nominations. The documentary branch has become famously quirky in recent years, passing over such populist, acclaimed, and decorated titles as Won't You Be My Neighbor? , American Symphony, and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story . Past performance is no guarantee of success-I've even heard rumors that some voters will refuse on principle to nominate a film by a previous Oscar winner-and geography is not destiny."
"The biggest surprise this year is the absence of My Undesirable Friends: Part I-Last Air in Moscow , Julia Loktev's very serious and epic (at 324 minutes) portrait of independent journalists in Russia doing their jobs and attempting to live normal lives while facing increasing government scrutiny and harassment. The film won the Gotham Award for best documentary feature in December, then took top honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics, setting it up to be a major Oscar contender."
Best Documentary has become difficult to predict as the documentary branch frequently passes over populist, acclaimed, and decorated titles such as Won't You Be My Neighbor?, American Symphony, and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. Past awards or pedigree do not ensure nominations, and some voters reportedly refuse on principle to nominate films by previous Oscar winners. The branch has grown more global: every nominated film in 2023 and 2024 was set outside the U.S., with only two shot in Europe. There are calls to broaden shortlist voting, but many argue the documentary branch should retain its autonomy. The omission of Julia Loktev's My Undesirable Friends: Part I, despite major critics' awards, was a major surprise.
Read at Filmmaker Magazine
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