Lots of response around the web today following our announcement of the new awards for nonfiction filmmaking and the release of the inaugural shortlist. Here's a bit of it:
Paul Harrill at Self-Reliant Filmmaking:
"The new awards are a direct response to the Oscars. From recent debates over confusing (and shifting) eligibility guidelines, to its long history of jaw-dropping omissions (e.g., neither Hoop Dreams nor The Thin Blue Line were even nominated their respective years), the Academy’s treatment of the genre has long been a source of consternation and disappointment for many within the documentary community. That’s not to say that many worthy films haven’t been nominated and awarded over the years… but clearly the AMPAS doesn’t give documentary the attention that it does to fictional feature films."
Eric D. Snider at Cinematical:
"I still have this question: Is Schnack & Co's list any better than Oscar's, or is it just different? It still boils down to a committee's own opinions and preferences. For example, The King of Kong, a huge audience favorite and certainly an excellent documentary, isn't on either shortlist."
Eric Lavalle at IONCINEMA:
"In recent years I've often criticized the Academy Awards for not having the foresight and fortitude to include docu films that have not only completely reinvigorated the genre, but have pushed the medium to new possible artistic and narrative terrains. This year's short list of 15 titles only further confirms that the Academy has tremendous difficulty in acknowledging the wider scope of films that merit year-end salutations. The formula for the docu-filmmaking and docu movie-going experience has significantly changed since Y2K, yet the most prestigious award film ceremony seems to come up short when it comes to new trends in storytelling and filmmaking."
More from David Hudson, Karina Longworth, Anne Thompson, Alison Willmore, Sasha Stone, Sujewa Elanayake, The Film Panel Notetaker, UNFORESEEN producer & graphic designer Jef Sewell and nominating committee members Matt Dentler and Brit Withey.
And thanks to everyone for the many emails today. Much more to come...
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