Oscars 2020: 10 Ups & 6 Downs

3. American Factory Beats For Sama For Best Documentary

Oscars 2020 American Factory
AMPAS & ABC

Netflix's American Factory scooped the Best Documentary Oscar this year, and though it's certainly a remarkable movie in its own right, is it really better than critical darling For Sama?

Not only did For Sama, a documentary about a couple raising their daughter in the war-torn region of Aleppo, score near-universal critical acclaim with a cool 99% Tomatometer score, but it was also the most-nominated documentary in BAFTA history, as well as winning the BAFTA for Best Documentary outright.

American Factory's win is hardly a travesty, and it's easy to see why an easily accessible Netflix doc would win above all others, but given the tragic urgency of For Sama's ultimate message - that the rest of the world doesn't do enough to intervene in humanitarian crises - it felt like the most topical and current of the five nominees.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.