“An Inconvenient Truth” (2006)
Oscar History: Won two, Best Documentary and Best Original Song, at the 79th Oscars in 2007.
Even now, at a time when it’s easier and easier to watch non-fiction film thanks to HBO, Netflix and VOD, there’s still a certain amount of ghettoization of documentary at Sundance — for all the great films that premiere, most will be completely ignored by the public at large. But more than any other that screened at the festival, that wasn’t true of “An Inconvenient Truth.” Davis Guggenheim’s film, toplining former Vice President Al Gore and following his presentation on the dangers of climate change and global warming, bowed to standing ovations in Park City, and on its release that May, became the third biggest documentary of all time up to that point. Its Best Documentary win at the Oscars was something of a foregone conclusion, but more impressively, it also became the first non-fiction film to win more than one Academy Award, picking up Best Original Song for Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need To Wake Up” as well. While the election of a climate change-denying orange dipshit undoubtedly shows the limit of its impact, there’s no doubt that it helped to raise awareness of what could be the most important threat facing us right now, and hopefully its Sundance 2017-launching sequel “An Inconvenient Truth 2: Still True And Even More Inconvenient” (subtitle ours) will do the same.
“Man On Wire” (2008)
Oscar History: Won Best Documentary at the 81st Academy Awards
We’ve had two versions of the same story — that of Philippe Petit, who walked a tightrope strung between the two towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974 — on the big screen in the last ten years. One was a big-budget studio movie from the Oscar-winning Robert Zemeckis, complete with jaw-dropping 3D effects and a fast-rising leading man. The other was a low-budget documentary that premiered at Sundance. Only one of them won an Oscar — or was even nominated for one — and it wasn’t Zemeckis’ 2015 film “The Walk.” James Marsh’s “Man On Wire” thrillingly mixed interviews, archive footage and beautifully filmed reconstructions to become a film that wasn’t just an elegy to a daredevil, but to a monument that no longer existed and a startling portrait of a remarkable friendship, and was quite rightly given the Grand Jury Prize in Park City. Its award run continued through the year, and the film’s successful release culminated in Marsh taking the Best Documentary Oscar.
“An Education” (2009)
Oscar History: Three nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards in March 2010 — Best Picture, Best Actress (Carey Mulligan) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Nick Hornby), though it didn’t win any.
The expansion of the Best Picture Oscar to more than the traditional five films, in 2009, came as something of a boon to some of the smaller movies that might have otherwise been passed over by the Academy, and “An Education” was one of the major beneficiaries of that. Adapted from Lynn Barber’s memoir of coming-of-age and a relationship with an older man, Lone Scherfig’s film was one of the Sundance sensations of its year, with particular praise being reserved for its young star, Carey Mulligan (though it was beautifully and sensitively crafted and performed beyond that). Despite the praise, it might not have made much impact with only five slots against “The Hurt Locker,” “Avatar,” “Inglourious Bastards” et al, but with ten available, picked up a Best Picture nod along with a nomination for Mulligan and Nick Hornby’s screenplay.
“Precious” (2009)
Oscar History: At the 82nd Academy Awards, the movie gained five nominations — Best Picture, Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Actress (Mo’Nique) and Best Editing, but only Mo’Nique took home a statue.
There are so many variables involved in making a small indie into an Oscar-garlanded success, that it’s not surprising relatively few films make it there. But “Precious” feels like the opposite phenomenon: the right film, in the right place, at the right time for magnified success. After the ovation-heavy first screening of the raw yet triumphant tale of disenfranchisement and determination, written, directed by and starring a largely African-American cast, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry both signed on to help promote the film. It then became so coveted that The Weinstein Company contested Lionsgate‘s claim, alleging their agreement took precedence. The matter was settled in favor of Lionsgate, who took Lee Daniels’ movie to a domestic total of nearly $50m, while Mo’Nique, who had already been singled out by the Sundance Jury, picked up an Oscar for her role. It’s easy to suggest that its Best Picture nod was at least partly a factor of this being the first year that category was expanded to up to 10 entries, but Lee Daniels’ nomination for director puts the lie on that too: “Precious” feels like a film that just absolutely hit its moment.
“Winter’s Bone” (2010)
Oscar History: At the 2011 ceremony (the 83rd) the film had no wins but was was nominated four times — Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (Debra Granik & Anne Rossellini), Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes), losing to “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” and Christian Bale in “The Fighter” respectively.
Writing about Debra Granik’s wonderfully atmospheric Ozarks drama always makes us a bit narky — it’s now been seven years and still Granik has not been able to mount a narrative feature follow-up despite the success of this film, in particular in launching one of the world’s biggest stars, Jennifer Lawrence. This seems especially unfair given the film’s trail of awards success. It won the Sundance US Dramatic top prize, as well as the Waldo Salt award for Screenwriting, blazed a trail through subsequent festivals and critics’ lists, which, coupled with its track record at the Oscars, should by rights have given Granik as much of a boost as her cast. Austere, but deeply rewarding and intelligent, it’s the type of film that Sundance might as well have been created to champion, however, so we suppose we should be grateful it got the exposure it did — few titles have been more deserving.