Oscars 2017: Predicting The Winners

Will Win: The White Helmets Should Win: Watani: My Homeland Surprise Win: 4.1 Miles

This year's category is dominated by variations on the topic of the crisis in the Middle East and the plight of refugees. Whichever nominee wins, it will be one that tackles this timely topic. One nominee charts the experience within Syria, another focuses on the efforts to escape it, and another chronicles what those escapees must endure. The race is between variations on a theme.

The White Helmets has the star power of George and Amal Clooney supporting it to give it a boost during campaigning, plus its accessibility through the Netflix platform gives it a strong advantage. It is a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, in a place where danger lies around every corner. It is going to become a winner for its substance as well as its celebrity support.

Watani: My Homeland is a far more emotionally engaging short, and should win because is the best representation of why the West is wrong to believe the fearful rhetoric surrounding refugees- by forcing the viewer to experience what it is like to face our hatred, it is easier to connect to. It simply presents reality rather than manipulating the viewer.

Although 4.1 Miles is more of a cinematic experience, seeming less like a documentary and more like a fictional film, and is a slice-of-life documentary similar to 2015's winner A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness and 2012's winner Saving Face. A film like this has won in the past, and could win again this year for its more journalistic approach. It's a tight race, but The White Helmets will just about edge out its competition