94th Academy Awards - Best Documentary Feature

What was once a niche genre for film fans, documentaries have been gaining mainstream cultural pedigree in the last decade. That influence can be seen in the nominees for Best Documentary Feature, with celebrities like Riz Ahmed, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Questlove competing in the race. With this category infamous for snubbing perceived frontrunners in the past, it’s a genuine fight at the top at the 94th Academy Awards!

Ascension

Nominees: Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Full disclosure, Ascension is one of the two nominees in this category I have not seen yet. That makes it difficult to talk about quality, but there are a few pieces of awards hardware to gauge its success. Ascension was nominated at the Directors Guild of America, the American Cinema Editors, and the National Board of Review, making it a guaranteed nominee. Unfortunately, that’s all the praise Ascension has received, with both Flee and Summer of Soul… absorbing much of the air in the race.

Attica

Nominees: Stanley Nelson, Traci A. Curry

Much like Ascension mentioned above, Attica has been nominated at the DGA and NBR with no wins to its name. The painfully relevant documentary on the Attica prison riot is a stellar mixture of archival footage and interviews with survivors. Attica is as much a celebration of finding comfort in struggle as it is a scathing reminder of the United States’ judicial system. Although Attica has shown up at fewer locations, it’s a good nomination for Showtime and an important film to be highlighted by the Academy.

Flee

Nominees: Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Charlotte De La Gournerie

The first of the top two contenders, Flee is undeniably the passion vote of the nominees. Flee has been winning audience-driven awards, from film festivals like TIFF to the Gotham Awards. It helps that Flee showed up in multiple categories, as previously discussed, yet Documentary Feature is its best opportunity to reward the film. The Danish documentary has a lot going against it though, Summer of Soul has a significant lead in precursors, including wins at the Indie Spirits and the NBR Award. Unless Flee sees an unlikely surge at the yet-to-come DGA and PGA Awards, there’s a decent chance the film goes home empty-handed on Oscar night.

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Nominees: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein

Summer of Soul is the frontrunner of the race by a large margin, winning at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, NBR, ACE Eddies, and the majority of critics’ awards. Director Questlove also gives Summer of Soul a significant PR advantage as well, while its celebration of Black history and music gives it a compelling narrative. The only factor going against it is how prickly this category tends to be against films like Summer of Soul. They’re infamous for disliking archival footage, which Summer of Soul predominantly features, and music films, which is the film’s primary subject.

Writing with Fire

Nominees: Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh

The second of the nominees I haven’t seen, Writing with Fire is the surprise film that always tends to pop up in the race. Writing with Fire has only shown up at a single main precursor, the PGA, with the international branch of the Academy likely rallying for it. The first Indian film nominated in Best Documentary, Writing with Fire will have to accept its place in history and the renewed profile as its own reward, as there’s little statistical or word-of-mouth reason to expect it to win.

It’s a two-pony race, with Flee and Summer of Soul each possessing the right narratives for a win. Summer of Soul is the pristine industry frontrunner, with its awards hardware and celebrity profile keeping it at the top to break category convention. Flee‘s the underdog of the year, with distributor NEON banking on its widespread love to make up for its lack of prizes. Each has the means and the support to get over the finish line, and in a head versus heart debate, makes the category punished with choice.

Will Win: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Could Win: Flee

Should Win: Flee

Should’ve Been Nominated: The First Wave