One of the Year's Best Docs - The Monastery - Out of Oscar Hunt After Belgian TV Broadcast

News from BritDoc in Oxford:  Pernille Rose Gronkjaer's The Monastery: Mr Vig and the Nun, the winner of Grand Jury Prizes at both IDFA and Full Frame, has been disqualified from Oscar consideration after a broadcast on Belgian television.  After its win in Durham, I wrote:

The double win by The Monastery, following its triumph at IDFA in November, makes it one of the front runners for this year's Oscar nominations.

Gronkjaer told me yesterday that she had tried to convince the Belgian broadcaster to hold off on screening the film, as she was actively planning an Academy campaign (her film opens at the Film Forum in NYC next month), but despite her entreaties, the film was broadcast, effectively ending her chances.

While I agree with the Academy's desires in confirming the the five nominated films are theatrical documentaries, there clearly still needs for change as it relates to this issue.  The Monastery is definitively a theatrical/cinematic experience, and to have its Oscar hopes squashed by a rogue broadcaster (even if contractually the station is within its rights) seems to follow the letter of the law but not the spirit.

More soon from a damp but still glorious BritDoc...