For nearly two decades, being nominated for an Academy Award in the documentary feature category required not only a beautifully crafted film constructed by a talented director and crew, but also a high-six-figure or more awards season campaign budget.
But if last year is any indication, scoring a slot on the Oscar shortlist and the final Academy Award ballot might no longer require deep-pocket distributors.
At the 96th Academy Awards, held in March 2024, all five Oscar-nominated feature docs were international films that focused on geopolitical topics. The majority of the nominated films not only lacked major streamer distribution but also didn’t have massive award-season campaign budgets. One nominated film — Nisha Pahuja’s “To Kill a Tiger” — didn’t garner distribution until one month before the Oscar ceremony when Netflix picked it up.
Ultimately, PBS’ Frontline Ukraine war film “20 Days in Mariupol” won the Oscar in 2024. That win, one would think, would have convinced award-hungry streamers to get behind docs about political issues. But the streamer’s antipathy to controversial political and current event documentaries has not subsided, which could put them at a real disadvantage this award season.
Harper Steele, above left, and Will Ferrell in “Will & Harper”
Some of this year’s leading doc contenders — Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s “No Other Land,” Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s “Union” and Hasan Oswald’s “Mediha” — are all politically-driven films without distribution deals. Each has garnered critical praise and numerous top prizes at film festivals around the world.
Docs on the recent fall fest circuit, including Alexis Bloom’s “The Bibi Files,” about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Errol Morris’ immigration control doc “Separated,” are also strong contenders this year. Both have distribution in place with Jolt.film and MSNBC Films, respectively. That said, each doc’s award-season budget is presumably significantly lower than one with a streamer behind it. Two timely docs that debuted at fall fests and are vying for Oscar gold but are still searching for distribution are Steve Pink’s “The Last Republican,” about former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, and Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault’s abortion rights film “Zurawski v Texas.”
Although the major streamers have shied away from political, nonpartisan fare in favor of more commercial, common-denominator nonfiction films, that doesn’t mean that documentary branch members are no longer being invited to costly award season screenings at the Crosby Street Hotel and the Whitby Hotel in New York City. The expensive e-blasts from nonfiction organizations, including DOC NYC and the IDA, are still being sent, and billboards meant to woo Los Angeles Academy voters are still being put up.
That’s because Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Warner Bros., Nat Geo and MTV Films are all still in the documentary game and are gunning for Oscars this year with films that deserve praise.
In “I Am Celine Dion,” right, the singer reminisces about her childhood.
Netflix is pushing hard for three docs that the company acquired out of Sundance earlier this year: Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s “Daughters,” Benjamin Ree’s “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” and Josh Greenbaum’s “Will & Harper.” Meanwhile, Amazon is seeking awards recognition for Carla Gutiérrez’s “Frida” and Irene Taylor’s “I Am Celine Dion.” Nat Geo is hoping to score a nomination for Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s “Sugarcane.” Warner Bros. is promoting Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” while Disney+ is supporting the campaign for R.J. Cutler’s Elton John doc “Never Too Late.” The award season campaign for Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” is being backed by MTV Documentary Films.
It’s anyone’s guess if celebrity titles like “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” “Never Too Late,” “I Am Celine Dion” and “Will & Harper” have ample Oscar potential given the fact that last season’s big-budget documentaries that focused on celebs — like Davis Guggenheim’s “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” and Matthew Heineman’s “American Symphony” — were snubbed.
The lack of distribution options for independently made documentaries that focus on any kind of social issue has become a serious problem in the nonfiction community. The majority of doc directors have had to fundraise to facilitate the distribution of their respective films. The shifting landscape might have caused a backlash against streamers spending millions on Oscar campaigns. Lavish events, lobbying and marketing dollars might be ignored by many branch members this year, which in turn could lead to a more equal playing field for those vying for that little gold statue.