1. The Square2. The Act of Killing3. Black Fish4. 20 Feet From Stardom5. Dirty Wars(Alt: Tim's Vermeer) As the popularity of documentaries has risen over the last decade, so has the competitiveness in this category, and this year's no exception. The critics' darling, without a doubt, is the somewhat unorthodox The Act of Killing (some going so far as to name it the best picture of the year, non-fictional or fictional), but as Steve James' Hoop Dreams could tell you, critics' adoration doesn't necessarily translate into a nomination in Best Documentary Feature. However, the branch has made a few changes over the years, so this isn't such an uncommon occurrence anymore and I expect The Act of Killing to make the cut. The Documentarians branch, given the nature of their work, is one of the more socially conscious branches of the Academy, so political gadfly documentaries such as Blackfish and The Square feel like good bets as well. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the branch occasionally nominates a fuzzy feel good story if it gets enough popular support, and 20 Feet From Stardom definitely fits that bill. For the final spot, there is a myriad of options from things like The Armstrong Lie, Tim's Vermeer, and Stories We Tell, but I'm guessing the branch goes to the war-documentary territory that it so often rewards and picks Dirty Wars with the last spot.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
