Three Netflix Films and a Surprising Title Make Oscar Doc Feature Shortlist, While Mariska Hargitay and NatGeo’s ‘Silyan’ Are Left Out

Netflix and Geeta Gandbhir Shine in Oscars Documentary Shortlist

This morning, Netflix and filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir received notable recognition as the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature was unveiled. Netflix secured three films in the competitive race for a nomination, including The Perfect Neighbor, directed by Gandbhir. The other two films by the streaming giant include Cover-Up, directed by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, and Apocalypse in the Tropics, directed by Petra Costa.

Gandbhir’s achievements were further underscored as she landed two spots on the shortlist, with The Perfect Neighbor competing in the feature category and The Devil Is Busy, co-directed by Christalyn Hampton, appearing in the short documentary category.

Today’s announcement also highlighted significant omissions. Among the most notable was My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay, which explores the life and career of the late actress Jayne Mansfield. Although it garnered a nomination for the PGA Awards last week, it fell short in this evaluation.

The Academy’s documentary selection committee has been characterized by its tendency to overlook celebrity-focused projects. Other documentaries, including films about Liza Minnelli, Eddie Murphy, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono, also did not make the shortlist. Interestingly, Diane Warren managed to secure a place on the Best Original Song shortlist for her piece "Dear Me," featured in the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless.

One of the biggest surprises was the exclusion of The Tale of Silyan, directed by Tamara Kotevka, an Oscar nominee for Honeyland. Earlier this month, it won the IDA Award for Best Feature Documentary and received a PGA Award nomination.

The documentary community felt the impact of these snubs, specifically with regard to Raoul Peck’s acclaimed film Orwell: 2+2=5, which explores the life of the iconic author George Orwell. This film had recently won accolades at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and was recognized by the National Board of Review as one of the year’s top five documentaries.

With a record 201 feature documentaries qualifying for the Oscars this year, the competition was intense, making the path to the shortlist notably challenging.

In contrast, the shortlist features two documentaries related to Russia: Mr. Nobody Against Putin, directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, and My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow, directed by Julia Loktev. The latter, running over five hours, focuses on independent journalists targeted by the Kremlin following its invasion of Ukraine.

Two films related to the Israel-Palestine conflict also made the shortlist, including Holding Liat, directed by Brandon Kramer, and Coexistence, My Ass!, directed by Amber Fares, neither of which currently has U.S. distribution.

In the short documentary category, Netflix featured All the Empty Rooms, directed by Joshua Seftel. This film is joined by All the Walls Came Down, which focuses on the wildfire that devastated Altadena, California, and Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, which pays tribute to the late journalist and photographer.

Four songs from documentaries earned spots on the shortlist for Best Original Song, highlighting a diverse range of narratives in this year’s selections.

The nominations for both Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short will be determined by members of the Academy’s documentary branch, with voting set to take place from January 12 to January 16. The nominees for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on January 22.

Shortlisted Films for Best Documentary Features

Fifteen features have advanced to the next round, selected from a pool of 201 eligible titles, including:

• The Alabama Solution
• Apocalypse in the Tropics
• Coexistence, My Ass!
• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cover-Up
• Cutting through Rocks
• Folktales
• Holding Liat
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin
• Mistress Dispeller
• My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
• The Perfect Neighbor
• Seeds
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka
• Yanuni

Shortlisted Films for Best Documentary Shorts

The shortlist for the short documentary category has also selected fifteen films from a total of 117 qualified entries:

• All the Empty Rooms
• All the Walls Came Down
• Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
• Bad Hostage
• Cashing Out
• Chasing Time
• Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
• Classroom 4
• The Devil Is Busy
• Heartbeat
• Last Days on Lake Trinity
• On Healing Land, Birds Perch
• Perfectly a Strangeness
• Rovina’s Choice
• We Were the Scenery