2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (December)
The Oscar shortlist landed yesterday and gave us some insight into Documentary Feature we can take moving forward into the final period before Oscar nomination voting begins. I still think that critics’ fave Apollo 11 is in danger here; this branch loves to snub a frontrunner and the film is entirely archival footage. It’s a masterstroke of editing, for sure, but will they forsake it for something more important? A film like For Sama, for example, which I’m moving all the way to the top spot. As a journey into the female experience of the Syrian war, and a winner of multiple awards (including Best Film at BIFA), this could be right up the doc branch’s alley.
Oscar Podcast #77: Discussing the Oscar Shortlists with guest Will Mavity
I’ve moved Midnight Family into my top 5 this month as it’s a film that’s been making quiet but important moves in the various documentary races and it definitely hits some contemporary themes of class and status (the way that Parasite does, but in a very different way) that could hit just right.
Here are my 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in Documentary Feature for December 17, 2019.
Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry
1. For Sama (PBS)
2. American Factory (Netflix)
3. Apollo 11 (Neon)
4. One Child Nation (Amazon)
5. Midnight Family (1901 Media)
OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical by film)
Advocate (Film Movement)
The Apollo (HBO Docs)
Aquarela (Sony Classics)
The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)
The Cave (National Geographic)
The Edge of Democracy (Netflix)
The Great Hack (Netflix)
Honeyland (Neon)
Knock Down The House (Netflix)
Maiden (Sony Classics)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads with 14 - December 15, 2025
- Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture - December 15, 2025
- Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS) Awards: ‘One Battle After Another’ Wins 8 - December 15, 2025
Retrospective: Worst Picture/Best Picture – ‘Basic Instinct 2’ and ‘The Departed’ (2006) 
Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads with 14 
On the Shelf: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’ trilogy, ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,’ ‘David Byrne’s American Utopia,’ ‘Walking Tall’ and the ‘Babe’ Films Arrive on 4K Blu-ray Releases for Week of December 15 
Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture