(Corrected to include "Project Nim" as another PGA nominee on Oscar's shortlist.)
Reinforcing that 2011 documentary-awards picture is almost as confusing as the Oscar Best Picture race, the Producers Guild of America nominated five films for its top doc award on Friday – and only two of the five even made the final 15 in the Oscars doc category.
The five films competing for the PGA's Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture award are "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest," "Bill Cunningham New York," "Project Nim," "Senna" and "The Union."
Only "Cunningham" and "Nim" made the Academy's shortlist of 15 feature documentaries. None of the five are competing for the top award at Friday night's International Documentary Association Awards, and only "Nim" and "Senna" are in contention for the Cinema Eye Honors' Nonfiction Feature award.
The nominees are notably light on hard-hitting issue-oriented documentaries, and do not include either Steve James' "The Interrupters" or Werner Herzog's "Into the Abyss," both of which drew attention when they were left off the Academy's shortlist.
The winner will be announced on Jan. 21, 2012 at the Producers Guild ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The PGA will announce its television series nominees on December 7 and all other nominees on January 3.
