News
PR: 15 Docus Qualify For Oscars
Note from author Robert Marich. Only one documentary has grossed over $2 million at domestic box office so far this year (Michael Moore’s health industry critique Sicko). That indicates low audience recognition for this year’s Oscar contingent of full-length documentaries, but also suggests if any other film besides Sicko wins then the Oscar glow will provide an enormous economic boost.
Press Release Nov. 19, 2007 -- Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 80th Academy Awards®. Seventy pictures had originally qualified in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order:
Autism: The Musical, Body of War, For the Bible Tells Me So, Lake of Fire, Nanking, No End in Sight, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Please Vote for Me, The Price of Sugar, A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, The Rape of Europa, Sicko, Taxi to the Dark Side, War/Dance and White Light/Black Rain.
The Documentary Branch screening committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of votings. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.
The 80th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT.
Also see Nov. 9 "Screen Scramble For Oscar Docus" in the News/Features story directory.
Sicko grossed $24.5 million in domestic box office; it's the only one of the 15 Oscar-qualifying full-length documentaries to do decent business at cinemas so far.