Clockwise from top left: "O.J.: Made in America," "Gimme Danger," "Amanda Knox," "Gleason," "Life, Animated"
AWARDS BEAT
In September, members of the Academy’s Documentary Branch got an overwhelming homework assignment: DVD screeners of 90 different non-fiction films.
That works out to four and a half hours a day of movie viewing, seven days a week, all month long.
Mind you, nobody in the branch is actually expected to watch all of those films before voting in the Oscars’ Best Documentary Feature category. Instead, each person was randomly assigned 15-20 of those films as required viewing so that every film will be viewed by a chunk of the branch, which consists of more than 250 members.
The deluge of fall screeners isn’t completely unprecedented: Last year, the September shipment of DVD screeners consisted of 61 films.
But last year, a total of 124 films qualified — and September’s group of 90 has already pushed this year’s crop of qualifying films to 139, with one more batch of screeners due before voting begins. The record for qualifying documentaries was set in 2013, when 151 films qualified. Typically, the final package of Oscar documentary screeners is a small one, so this year’s final count might set a new record, or might fall short.
Earlier shipments to doc-branch voters consisted of 14 films in June and July, and 21 in August.
The Academy is expected to release the official list of qualifying docs in late October.
Voters are asked to watch their assigned films, but they are also permitted to see anything else on the list of qualifying films. The top 15 vote-getters will appear on a shortlist that will be revealed in December, with a second round of voting picking the five nominees.
The presumed Oscar documentary frontrunners at this point include films on the recent DOC-NYC shortlist, which usually predicts about two-thirds of the Oscar shortlist: “Amanda Knox,” “Cameraperson,” “Fire at Sea,” “Gleason,” “I Am Not Your Negro,” “Into the Inferno,” “Jim: The James Foley Story,” “Life, Animated,” “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures,” “Miss Sharon Jones!,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “13th,” “The Ivory Game,” “Trapped” and “Weiner.”
Other potential contenders include “Newtown,” “Zero Days,” “Audrie & Daisy,” “Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War,” “Do Not Resist,” “The Eagle Huntress,” “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You,” “Tower” and a number of music docs, among them “The Music of Strangers,” “Landfill Harmonic,” “Gimme Danger,” “We Are X” and “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.”
Many of the films, notably including the ESPN miniseries “O.J.: Made in America,” have strong TV connections and will also compete for Emmys next year. One of the Oscar-qualifying films, “Kate Plays Christine,” is arguably a fictional film posing as a doc.
Here is the list of screeners sent to members in the Academy’s Documentary Branch so far, according to members of the branch:
“The Abolitionists”
“Abortion: Stories Women Tell”
“All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone”
“Almost Holy”
“Amanda Knox”
“Among the Believers”
“Anne Frank Then and Now”
“The Anthropologist”
“Apparition Hill”
“Art Bastard”
“The Ataxian”
“Audrie & Daisy”
“Author: The JT Leroy Story”
“The Bad Kids”
“Be Here Now”
“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”
“A Beautiful Planet”
“Beauty Bites Beast”
“Becoming Mike Nichols“
“Behind Bayonets and Barbed Wire”
“Behind the Cove – The Quiet Japanese Speak Out!”
“Best and Most Beautiful Things”
“The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits”
“Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened”
“A Billion Lives”
“Black Women in Medicine”
“Blood on the Mountain”
“Boy 23: The Forgotten Boys of Brazil”
“The Brainwashing of My Dad”
“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds“
“By Sidney Lumet”
“The C Word”
“Cameraperson”
“Citizen Soldier”
“City of Gold”
“Class Divide”
“Colliding Dreams”
“Command and Control”
“Dancer”
“Danny Says”
“Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War”
“Disturbing the Peace”
“Do Not Resist”
“Don’t Blink – Robert Frank”
“The Eagle Huntress”
“Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words”
“Equal Means Equal”
“Eva Hesse”
“Everything is Copy – Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted”
“A Family Affair”
“Finding Babel”
“The First Monday in May”
“Floyd Norman: An Animated Life”
“Francofonia”
“Fuocoammare” (“Fire at Sea”)
“Generation Startup”
“Gimme Danger”
“Gleason”
“Harry & Snowman”
“Hate Rising With Jorge Ramos”
“Holy Hell”
“Hooligan Sparrow”
“How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change”
“Huntwatch”
“I Am Not Your Negro”
“Indian Point”
“Into the Inferno”
“Iron Moon”
“Ivory. A Crime Story”
“The Ivory Game”
“Jim: The James Foley Story”
“Kate Plays Christine”
“Keepers of the Game“
“Landfill Harmonic”
“The Last Man on the Moon”
“Life, Animated”
“Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World”
“Look at us now, Mother!”
“The Lovers and the Despot”
“Magnus”
“Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA”
“Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures”
“Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing”
“Marinoni: The First in the Frame”
“Mavis!”
“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise”
“Mifune: The Last Samurai”
“Miss Sharon Jones!”
“The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble”
“My Love, Don’t Cross That River”
“National Bird”
“National Parks Adventure”
“Newtown”
“Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”
“Notes on Blindness”
“Nuts!”
“Off the Rails”
“OJ: Made in America”
“Older than Ireland”
“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice”
“On The Map”
“100 Years, One Woman’s Fight for Justice”
“Our Last Tango”
“Presenting Princess Shaw”
“The Red Pill”
“The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé!: A Trip Across Latin America”
“Rooted in Peace”
“The Ruins of Lifta”
“Seasons”
“The Seventh Fire”
“Shadow World”
“Silicon Cowboys”
“Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang”
“Solitary”
“Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”
“Starving the Beast”
“The Syndrome”
“Thank You for Your Service”
“Theo Who Lived”
“They Will Have to Kill Us First – Malian Music in Exile”
“13th”
“This is Life”
“Tickled”
“Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru”
“Tower”
“The Trans List”
“Trapped”
“Trezoros: The Lost Jews of Kastoria”
“Under the Gun”
“Under the Sun”
“Underfire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro”
“Unlocking the Cage”
“USS Indianapolis The Legacy”
“Vaxxed: From Cover Up to Catastrophe”
“We Are X”
“Weiner”
“When Two Worlds Collide”
“The Witness”
“Zero Days”
'OJ: Made In America,' and the 30 Other Game-Changing '30 for 30' Films (Photos)
The five-part "O.J.: Made In America" marks a watershed moment for "30 for 30," the ESPN documentary series that has proven to be one of the best concepts the network has ever come up with. Co-created by Connor Schell and Bill Simmons in 2009 to chronicle 30 stories from the "ESPN era" beginning with the network's founding in 1979, the series has elevated filmmakers, creating unforgettable works that have received awards, critical acclaim and festival selections many times over.
30. "Trojan War" Pete Carroll turned the USC Trojans into the first college football powerhouse of the 21st century before leaving for the Seattle Seahawks amidst NCAA sanctions. USC alum Aaron Rahsaan Thomas looks at the beginning of the Trojans' steady decline: The Team's loss in the 2006 national championship game against Texas.
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29. "The Price of Gold" The Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal was one of the most disgraceful in women's sports. It was also insanely profitable for figure skating. Director Nanette Burstein takes a look at the incident 20 years later and what it meant for both the sport and Harding's turbulent life.
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28. "Youngstown Boys" The rise and fall of college dynasties and the corrupt side of school sports has been a regular topic on "30 For 30." The film takes a look at the scandals that surrounded Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and fallen star Maurice Clarrett, the latter of whom ended up in prison.
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27. "The 16th Man" This documentary about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa shortly after the end of Apartheid, featured Morgan Freeman -- who played Nelson Mandela in the biopic, "Invictus," -- is the narrator.
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26. "The Birth of Big Air" What if I told you the guys who made "Jackass" contributed to this series? After earning fame by filming guys doing stupid things, Jeff Tremaine directed this documentary about the life of Mat Hoffman, the greatest BMX rider of all time. Hoffman's interviews reveal the drive that not only defines his life, but the core philosophy of action sports as well.
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25. "Winning Time" This film is one of the lighter pieces in the "30 For 30" lineup, but also one of the best executed. It focuses on the playoff duels between the Pacers and Knicks in the mid-90s, a series that made Reggie Miller one of the top NBA players not named Michael Jordan, especially when taunting Knicks fanatic, Spike Lee.
24. Straight Outta L.A. In the 80s, Al Davis took his ball and left Oakland, bringing his Raiders to Los Angeles. In the 13 seasons they played there, the Silver and Black captivated their temporary home, as well as this documentary's director, Ice Cube. "Straight Outta L.A." shows how L.A. and the Raiders were a perfect fit for each other, and how they inspired the imagery and philosophy of N.W.A.
23. "Playing for the Mob" Jim Sweeney was a Rhodes Scholar and a Naismith Award-winning superstar at Boston College. So why did he take money as part of a points-shaving scheme? "Playing For The Mob," directed Joe Lavine and Cayman Grant, is another great corrupt college sports tale.
22. "Jordan Rides The Bus" At the peak of his athletic and cultural dominance, Michael Jordan stunned everyone by leaving basketball to give minor league baseball a try. "Bull Durham" director Ron Shelton, himself a former minor league player, goes inside the motives that led one sport's greatest ever to enter a sport where he was outmatched by so many.
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21. "Bad Boys" The '89-90 Detroit Pistons are one of the forgotten great teams in NBA history, which is weird because in their time they were hated. "Bad Boys" looks at Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and the rest of the players that made up one of the grittiest, most physical teams in basketball history.
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20. "Of Miracles And Men" What's it like to be on the losing end of a miracle? "Of Miracles and Men" looks at the Soviets who lost the "Miracle on Ice" and goes beyond that upset to show what it was like to be a hockey player blocked from playing in the NHL by the Iron Curtain.
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19. "Fernando Nation" In 1959, the Latino residents of L.A.'s Chavez Ravine were forcibly evicted so their homes could make way for the construction of Dodger Stadium. Two decades later, a chubby 19-year-old from Sonora, Mexico, named Fernando Valenzuela became the biggest star not just on the Dodgers, but all of baseball.
18. "Four Days In October" The 2004 American League Championship Series was the kind of sports moment "30 for 30" was made for. The Yankees were three outs away from once again killing the dreams of their rivals and sports' most famous losers, the Red Sox. Instead, the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 series deficit, and "Four Days In October" shows how the infamous Curse of the Bambino was broken in the most unlikely of circumstances.
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17. "Slaying the Badger" The 1986 Tour de France is widely considered to be the greatest story in cycling history. American Greg LeMond had helped his teammate Bernard Hinault win the previous year, and Hinault had pledged to return the favor. What unfolded that year en route to LeMond becoming the first American to win the Tour showed how cycling is a constant struggle between rivalry and friendship; individual and team.
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16. "Requiem For The Big East" "O.J. Simpson: Made In America" isn't the first documentary Ezra Edelman has made for ESPN. "Requiem for the Big East" was a dive into one of his favorite things in sports: Big East college basketball. He ties in the conference's rise with that of ESPN and shows how the two forces combined to change college basketball into the form we know today.
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15. "The Announcement" Magic Johnson has become such an esteemed elder statesman in basketball and in Los Angeles that it's easy to forget the trials he faced when he revealed he had HIV. "The Announcement" restores weight to his famous confession and explores what Magic faced shortly after his sudden retirement.
14. "Kings Ransom" August 9, 1988, was a red letter day for hockey and a day that has lived in infamy for Canada. Wayne Gretzky, national hero, was being traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. "Kings Ransom" explores the intense backlash the move received north of the border and the transformative impact it had on the NHL, as Gretzky helped expand the sport's appeal into new territory as he led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
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13. "I Hate Christian Laettner" This is one of the funniest "30 for 30" to date. Christian Laettner was one of the most dominant college hoops players of his time, and like the university he played for, everyone loved to hate him. Rory Karpf talks with Laettner in a film that explores how an athlete can inspire such passionate hatred for reasons both valid and ludicrous.
12. "You Don't Know Bo" Bo Jackson never won a championship, but he did something even better: he became a mythical figure. With the help of some creative animated pieces, Michael Bonfiglio delves through fact and fiction to explore the incredible legend Bo built around himself -- and what he left behind.
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11. "Pony Excess" Thaddeus Matula was the son of an SMU professor and a rabid fan of the school's football team, the Mustangs. He was eight when the Mustangs faced the unthinkable: the NCAA was shutting down their program for two years, bringing an end to their dominance. "Pony Excess" is Matula's retelling of that scandal, digging into the football team's dealings with oil tycoons and corrupt politicians in a city and decade that was consumed by greed.
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10. "Broke" A sobering documentary that proves the adage "mo' money, mo' problems" is more true than you might believe. Billy Corben interviews retired athletes who lost all their wealth from their pro career through poor investments, bad friends, and of course, the temptation of materialism.
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9. "Fantastic Lies" Marina Zenovich, director of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," created this scathing piece on the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case, exposing how the public's outrage at injustice can sometimes become overzealous and catch innocent people in the crossfire.
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8. "Muhammad and Larry" In 1980, Muhammad Ali wanted one more title match against Larry Holmes. The fight proved what everyone but Ali already knew: The Greatest was past his prime. Using archival footage of the fight he shot himself, director Albert Maysles shows the humanity of both fighters, including the dark side of Ali that fueled his competitiveness, and the reluctance of Holmes to put down his friend and idol for good.
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7. "Catching Hell" Every Cubs fan wonders what might have happened if Steve Bartman had let Moises Alou catch that foul ball in 2003. Director Alex Gibney lifts the curtain on what happened to Bartman after that infamous catch and questions why sports fans so often dwell on singular moments of bad luck.
6. "The Best That Never Was" Marcus Dupree was the greatest high school football recruit of his generation and the pride of his hometown of Philadelphia. He then went to Oklahoma and quickly fizzled out. Director Jonathan Hock tracked down Dupree to find out what went wrong and how Dupree was able to come to peace with the direction his life ended up taking.
ESPN
5. "Four Falls of Buffalo" It hurts to watch your team lose a title. To have that happen four straight years is almost unimaginable. Yet that's what Buffalo Bills fans experienced as their team lost four consecutive Super Bowls. But instead of just lamenting their defeats, "Four Falls of Buffalo" becomes a love letter to the city the Bills call home, as well as a call to really consider just what the Bills managed to achieve.
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4. "The U" In the 80s, a pair of cultural phenomena changed Miami forever: "Miami Vice" and The U. This documentary follows the latter, showing how the Canes' dominance brought South Florida's most well-known university unprecedented fame and party school cred before it hit a brutal decline.
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3. "June 17, 1994" Everyone remembers where they were when O.J. Simpson drove that white Bronco, but do you remember what else happened that day? From Stanley Cup parades and World Cup matches to the MLB lockout, director Brett Morgen explores a day in sports history unlike any other in one of the first prominent "30 For 30" installments.
2. "Hillsborough" "Hillsborough" covers the human crush at an FA Cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989 that killed 96 people. Police blamed fans for the incident, but a new inquest exonerated them and delivered a verdict of unlawful killing earlier this year.
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1. "The Two Escobars" This is not only the greatest "30 for 30;" it is also one of the greatest documentaries in recent memory. Andres Escobar was a hero to the people of Colombia, yet the national team he played for was bankrolled with by the infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. "The Two Escobars" is one of the finest examples of how sports can become more than a game. Sometimes, it can all too literally become a matter of life and death.
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1 of 31
From “The U” to “The Two Escobars,” we count down the 30 greatest documentaries that ESPN’s critically-acclaimed series has gifted us
The five-part "O.J.: Made In America" marks a watershed moment for "30 for 30," the ESPN documentary series that has proven to be one of the best concepts the network has ever come up with. Co-created by Connor Schell and Bill Simmons in 2009 to chronicle 30 stories from the "ESPN era" beginning with the network's founding in 1979, the series has elevated filmmakers, creating unforgettable works that have received awards, critical acclaim and festival selections many times over.