The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the 15 films that have made the Best Documentary Feature shortlist. The list includes Joshua Oppenheimer’s latest, The Look of Silence, along with Asif Kapadia’s Amy Winehouse film and the film about Malala Yousafzai.
The Documentary Branch whittled the list of 124 films that were eligible for the award down to 15. Five films will make the final list of nominees.
The 15 films include Amy, the controversial documentary about the late British singer Winehouse, which will go up against The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer’s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated The Act of Killing. There’s also the Netflix-distributed film about the political upheaval in Ukraine, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom.
Amy’s campaign got a nice boost on Tuesday by winning the National Board of Review’s Best Documentary prize. However, The Look of Silence won the Gotham Award for best documentary.
Other highlights include the new film about Marlon Brando, Listen To Me Marlon, Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next and Alex Gibney’s Scientology film Going Clear. He Named Me Malala could also score a nomination.
The nominees are announced on Thursday, Jan. 14 and the 88th Oscars are on Feb. 28.
Here’s the full list:
Amy, On the Corner Films and Universal Music (review)
Best of Enemies, Sandbar (review)
Cartel Land, Our Time Projects and The Documentary Group
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Jigsaw Productions (review)
He Named Me Malala, Parkes-MacDonald and Little Room
Heart of a Dog, Canal Street Communications
The Hunting Ground, Chain Camera Pictures
Listen to Me Marlon, Passion Pictures
The Look of Silence, Final Cut for Real
Meru, Little Monster Films
3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets, The Filmmaker Fund, Motto Pictures, Lakehouse Films, Actual Films, JustFilms, MacArthur Foundation and Bertha BRITDOC
We Come as Friends, Adelante Films
What Happened, Miss Simone?, RadicalMedia and Moxie Firecracker
Where to Invade Next, Dog Eat Dog Productions
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, Pray for Ukraine Productions