Last
year saw a tightly contested race for Best Documentary that
ultimately left me guessing randomly as to which doc would win. I got
it wrong, of course. It's always been tricky to anticipate which way
the relatively small group of voters who attend the screenings will
lean, but we don't have to worry about that this year.
A
quietly announced by somewhat significant rule change occurred
shortly after nominations landed: screeners will be sent out to
Academy members containing the nominees for Animated Short,
Live-Action Short, and Documentary Feature. Now the entire membership
is allowed to vote on these categories.
The first nominee – and my personal favourite of the bunch – is 5 Broken Cameras, which not only illuminates a complex regional conflict, but is a celebration of the spirit of documentary filmmaking. But without a single guild nomination this season, I wonder if the industry really loves it that much.
The
Gatekeepers tackles a similar
subject but in much different fashion. It has been hailed and
labelled as one of the most insightful and important films on the
Middle East conflict, featuring interviews with several surviving
members of Shin Bet. It's a solid contender for the win, but its
reliance on talking-head interviews might damage its chances with a
larger, more mainstream audience voting on it.
How
to Survive a Plague made a big
splash early in the season when the New York Film Critics handed it
their Best First Feature prize over Beasts of the Southern
Wild. The doc chronicles the
feats of activism which helped develop groundbreaking treatments for
AIDS, but the subject, inspiring though it may be, might not feel
topical anymore.
The
Invisible War might be the most
emotionally reactive film of the lot. Its collection of first-hand
horror stories about rape in the military should boil the blood of
anyone who even has blood running through their veins. With last
year's winner, Undefeated,
having presumably capitalized on voters' heartstrings, maybe this one
is a dark horse to be mindful of.
However,
the nominee that has claimed its spot as the one to beat throughout
the season is Searching for Sugar Man.
With nominations from all major guilds and the lion's share of
critics prizes, it has emerged as an audience favourite courtesy of
its accessible human interest appeal and nifty, pseudo-mystery
narrative. It's much lighter than its competition, but again, with a
larger group of people voting, that could very much be to its
benefit.
Will
win: Searching
for Sugar Man
Runner-up:
The Invisible War
Should
win: 5 Broken
Cameras
Should
have been nominated: The
Queen of Versailles
