The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlist for the 2019 Documentary Feature Oscar and other related categories, and fans in the documentary branches should be relatively pleased. 15 films made it to the shortlist round including most of the favored and critically-acclaimed movies: Focus Features‘ Mr.Rogers film, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” the highest-grossing docu of 2018 so far, National Geographic‘s “Free Solo,” Magnolia‘s Ruth Bader Ginsberg portrait “RBG,” “Minding the Gap,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Three Identical Strangers” and more.
The biggest snub, as it were, was for Michael Moore‘s “Fahrenheit 11/9,” the second-highest grossing doc of the year, but not the director’s most favored film by some stretch. Other films left in the cold were Morgan Nevile‘s Orson Welles documentary for Netflix, “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead,” Netflix’s doc “Quincy,” the critically acclaimed “Bisbee ’17” by director Robert Greene, and “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes” by Alexis Bloom.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
One hundred sixty-six films were originally submitted in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Charm City
Communion
Crime + Punishment
Dark Money
The Distant Barking of Dogs
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
On Her Shoulders
RBG
Shirkers
The Silence of Others
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Three more category shortlists were announced tonight include Documentary Short, Animated Short Film, and Live-Action Short film.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
One hundred four films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
Los Comandos
My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.
’63 Boycott
Women of the Gulag
Zion
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Eighty-one films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Age of Sail
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Bilby
Bird Karma
Late Afternoon
Lost & Found
One Small Step
Pépé le Morse
Weekends
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
One hundred forty films had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Caroline
Chuchotage
Detainment
Fauve
Icare
Marguerite
May Day
Mother
Skin
Wale
The 91st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
The 91st Academy Awards will be revealed on Sunday, Feb. 24 on ABC beginning at 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET.