2017 Oscars: Eagle Huntress, 13TH, O.J.: Made in America, I Am Not Your Negro in Contention for the Documentary Feature Oscar

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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 89th Academy Awards^®.  One hundred forty-five films were originally submitted in the category.

While films like O.J.: Made in America, 13TH, The Ivory Game and Life, Animated were all expected to land in final contention for the Documentary Feature Oscar, there are, always, a few painful snubs. The Leonardo DiCaprio doc Before the Flood missed out here but his other film, The Ivory Game did make it. Miss Sharon Jones! did not qualify as some expected. Sharon Jones, the film’s subject died of pancreatic cancer just last month. Newtown, the story of the horrific elementary school massacre, did not qualify either. Nor did Terrence Malick’s IMAX film A Voyage of Time nor a pair of Netflix docs, Audrie & Daisy and Amanda Knox.

The Producers Guild of America nominated Dancer, The Eagle Huntress, Life, Animated, O.J.: Made in America and Tower. Last year’s PGA winner, Amy, won the Oscar. The International Documentary Association nominated 13TH, Cameraperson, Fire at Sea, I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America and Weiner, all of which made the Oscar cut. Last year’s IDA winner was The Look of Silence.

Currently, O.J.: Made in America is winning the critics’ race with prizes from Gotham, the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. I Am Not Your Negro won with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Here are the 15 films eligible for the 2017 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature:

“Cameraperson,” Big Mouth Productions
“Command and Control,” American Experience Films/PBS
“The Eagle Huntress,” Stacey Reiss Productions, Kissiki Films and 19340 Productions
“Fire at Sea,” Stemal Entertainment
“Gleason,” Dear Rivers Productions, Exhibit A and IMG Films
“Hooligan Sparrow,” Little Horse Crossing the River
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Velvet Film
“The Ivory Game,” Terra Mater Film Studios and Vulcan Productions
“Life, Animated,” Motto Pictures and A&E IndieFilms
“O.J.: Made in America,” Laylow Films and ESPN Films
“13th,” Forward Movement
“Tower,” Go-Valley
“Weiner,” Edgeline Films
“The Witness,” The Witnesses Film
“Zero Days,” Jigsaw Productions

The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting.  Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles.

Nominations for the 89th Oscars^® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre^® at Hollywood & Highland Center^®in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.