Column: The Doc Oscar Race’s ‘Will’ Wild Card

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It seems there’s some controversy surrounding the choices made by the Academy’s documentary branch this year. The nominees for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, announced on December 17th, overlooked one of the year’s most highly praised films, “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” which currently holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, won the top Critics Choice documentary award, and is also nominated for the Producers Guild’s top documentary award. This snub is especially puzzling when you consider that it was accompanied by other notable documentaries like “Martha,” “I Am: Celine Dion,” “Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid,” and “Music by John Williams,” among others.

While it’s important to note that the fifteen documents we’ve narrowed down are not deficient by any means – in fact, many of them are outstanding. However, this selection process seems to have consistently overlooked high-quality yet popular titles within the document branch for approximately the past ten years.

Although the 15 documents we’ve selected are certainly not inferior, it’s worth mentioning that they often overlook populist but deserving titles within the document branch over the last decade. However, many of these documents are exceptional.

Both versions convey the same idea in a more natural and easy-to-read manner while maintaining the original meaning.

During that span, they chose not to consider “Good Night Oppy”, an endearing tale of a Mars rover reminiscent of WALL-E, which was highly anticipated by many, along with several other well-liked documentaries featuring celebrities. These included “McQueen” about the legendary fashion designer Alexander McQueen, “Quincy” showcasing the life of music icon Quincy Jones, “Amazing Grace”, chronicling the career of Aretha Franklin, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” focusing on the renowned chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain, “Val” featuring Val Kilmer, and “Sr.” about Robert Downey Sr. These were all left off their shortlist.

Among the contenders, I was not chosen to nominate some extraordinary documentaries like “Apollo 11,” “Three Identical Strangers,” as well as a plethora of other popular docs featuring iconic figures such as Fred Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”), Roger Ebert (“Life Itself”), Billie Eilish (“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”), Jon Batiste (“American Symphony”), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Knock Down the House”), Michael J. Fox (“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”), Jane Goodall (“Jane”), and David Bowie (“Moonage Daydream”).

At some stage, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this genre of movies seems to be causing issues within their film division. Admittedly, I can’t offer concrete evidence, but I strongly suspect I have a good idea about the root cause.

Based on conversations with numerous branch members who also speak to many others, it appears that a significant portion of the branch is hesitant to promote a populist documentary because they understand that if it gets nominated, it might be selected over a film with greater social significance by the Academy as a whole, which has the power to vote along with the branch. This phenomenon seems to have occurred frequently about a decade ago, with winners such as Searching for Sugar Man, which was chosen over 5 Broken Cameras, and 20 Feet From Stardom, which won over The Act of Killing. Other examples include Amy being selected over The Look of Silence and O.J.: Made in America beating out I Am Not Your Negro.

In response to the back-to-back #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2016, the Documentary Branch made a valiant attempt to promote diversity within its ranks. To achieve this goal, it has become more diverse itself, with women making up 53%, people of color at 33%, and members from outside the U.S. accounting for 31%. However, as a result of this transformation, the branch has grown significantly, from 237 members in 2016 to its current total of 693. At the same time, it seems that the preferences of its members have started to differ noticeably from those of regular moviegoers.

In the previous year, all five nominees for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar were non-English films – 20 Days in Mariupol, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, and To Kill a Tiger. Few people outside of the industry had watched any of them before or after the Oscars. Their box office earnings were reported as follows: $35,000, $44,000, $119,000, $1.2 million, and none for To Kill a Tiger, although it was eventually acquired by Netflix for streaming.

Supporters of this course contend that if we don’t showcase less common documentaries, they will eventually disappear. Moreover, they believe that the documentary community should champion the underdogs, as they themselves are underdogs. On the other hand, critics claim that this is rooted in self-righteousness and bitterness about the limited types of documentaries being funded today (mainly celebrity-focused music, sports, and true crime productions) and the restricted group of directors who have the opportunity to create them (former nominees and winners often receive fewer opportunities these days).

A disgruntled branch member who believes the current system is flawed proposes this solution: “To rectify the issues, we should allow all members of the Academy to participate in voting for the shortlist and nominees, similar to how it’s done for international and animated feature categories.

Could it be that this year, despite the existing system, there’s a chance a Trojan horse manages to slip through a vulnerability within the branches?

The celebrity-focused documentary that made this year’s shortlist, titled Will & Harper, chronicles the journey of Will Ferrell as he travels through America with his longtime friend and former SNL writer, Harper Steele, who recently came out as trans. Acquired by Netflix from Sundance, this film has garnered critical acclaim (boasting a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). The documentary community has warmly received it – it shared the top CCDA honor with Super/Man, was shortlisted for DOC NYC, and was one of ten titles chosen for the SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s Docs to Watch Panel (a panel I assist in organizing), all of which are traditionally indicative of Academy nominations.

Furthermore, the division with a rich tradition of supporting documentaries centered around LGBTQ themes is taking action following a U.S. presidential election that could have been influenced by transphobic language, causing unease in Hollywood. For example, Disney’s Pixar recently abandoned a storyline about trans characters from their upcoming original series, “Win or Lose”. In this climate, supporters of the trans community within the division might prioritize nominating a documentary that fosters understanding over concerns about its potential success.

However, it remains unclear if a majority of branch members will vote to nominate “Sugarcane” due to the strong affection shown towards six other documentaries within the community. Among these, “Sugarcane”, which sheds light on misconduct at Indian residential schools and has been nominated by every major precursor group (CCDA, DOC NYC, SCAD, Cinema Eye Honors, and International Documentary Association), stands out.

“No Other Land”, a joint Israeli-Palestinian production focusing on Israeli actions in the West Bank, has been recognized as a finalist by CEH, DNYC, and IDA, and has won top documentary awards at the Berlin Film Festival, Gotham Awards, L.A. Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, and European Film Awards.

In addition to these, we have “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (CEH, DNYC, IDA, EFA), “Daughters” (CCDA, CEH, DNYC and SCAD), “Black Box Diaries” (CEH, DNYC, IDA, and SCAD), and “Dahomey” (CEH, DNYC, IDA, and EFA) that are also in contention for the best international feature Oscar.

If “Will & Harper” gets nominated in the end, it’s highly likely to win due to its widespread appeal among Academy members across various branches. Its unique soundtrack has even been shortlisted for the Best Original Song Oscar by the music branch, and while it’s expected that Academy members should only vote if they’ve seen every nominee in a category, many often don’t follow this rule. This gives “Will & Harper” an advantage due to its broad recognition among the voting body.

That being the case, it will be fascinating to see if the branch opts to nominate it. 

This tale was initially published in a special January edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s magazine. If you’d like to get the magazine, you can subscribe by clicking here.

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2025-01-08 00:55