FINAL 2022 Oscar Predictions: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

It looks like the Critics’ Choice curse will finally be broken this year, as Summer of Soul nabs the PGA and BAFTA for Documentary Feature, paving the way for an Oscar win. Past CCA winners have largely gone on to be snubbed even for a nomination and that was always the biggest hurdle for Summer of Soul, a largely archival footage film and the overwhelming critics’ fave this season.
Flee is the film’s closest and only rival and of its three history-making feature Oscar nominations if it was going to upset anywhere, it would be here. But, it would be a pretty shocking upset.
Here are my final Oscar predictions in Documentary Feature.
1. Summer of Soul (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu) – CEH, CCA, IDA, PGA, BAFTA
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
2. Flee (NEON) – CEH, CCA, DOC NYC, Gotham, IDA, EFA, PGA, BAFTA
Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
3. Ascension (MTV Documentary Films) – CEH, CCA, DOC NYC, Gotham, IDA, PGA
Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
4. Attica (Showtime) – CCA
Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
5. Writing with Fire (Music Box Films) – IDA, PGA
Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

- 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