Oscars 2017: Predicting The Winners

Will Win: I Am Not Your Negro Should Win: 13th Surprise Win: O.J: Made In America

I Am Not Your Negro, based on a manuscript by James Baldwin and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, is a very different kind of documentary that perfectly captures the essence of Baldwin's literary works.

If the American Academy is experiencing a period of reflection and introspection, then a win for I Am Not Your Negro is a certainty since this visual essay doesn't provide easy answers and instead asks questions of its audiences. It pertinently encapsulates the division in America, challenging what a Documentary is meant to be.

As brilliant as it is, 13th is far more moving. A well-structured argument that analyses the new form slavery of African Americans has taken - mass incarceration - is every bit as devastating, but what might give it the edge is it is full of contemporary interviews, and is a little more accessible. However, because it is an argument rather than a presentation of events, it is less of a reflection and more of a reaction to a serious problem. It challenges audiences in a more direct way than I Am Not Your Negro, which will win out of artistic merit.

Don't count out the epic O.J: Made In America. It has got this far despite it's running time, and it might continue its winning streak since it is able to cover similar ground as Raoul Peck and Ava Duvernay's films with more space to breathe.