15 Documentaries Tapped for Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that, of the 89 films that had qualified in the Documentary Feature category, 15 have been selected to advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards®.

* “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
* “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
* “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
* “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
* “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
* “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
* “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
* “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
* “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
* “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
* “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
* “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
* “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
* “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
* “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)

The Wrap noted the absence of Michael Moore's high-profile "Capitalism: A Love Story," and James Toback's well-received "Tyson," which covers the life of boxer Mike Tyson in his own words.

And the screening committee obviously doesn't like rock 'n' roll, because neither "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" nor Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim's "It Might Get Loud" made the cut.

Cinematical notes those absences, along with "The September Issue" (about Anna Wintour and Vogue magazine), and adds: "Last year's best-reviewed documentary, 'Man on Wire,' went on to win the Oscar; 'Anvil!' holds that title this year (98% at Rotten Tomatoes), but it's not even going to be nominated."

How many of these feature-length documentaries have you seen? Any of your favorites missing? Which of the selected films do you think will be nominated? Which one will win an Oscar?

Nominations will be announced on Feb. 2, 2010. The awards ceremony will take place March 7, 2010.

'It Might Get Loud': A Storytelling Lesson

Go see (and hear!) ' It Might Get Loud,' a new untraditional documentary.

Rock icons from three different generations -- Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), the Edge (U2) and Jack White (White Stripes) -- come together to talk about the electric guitar and their musical influences. The maestros swap stories and crank up their instruments on an empty soundstage for a superstar jam session. Along the way, they visit the majestic hall where "Stairway to Heaven'' was composed, and we are taken to the high school classroom where U2 first met and rehearsed in their teens. Jack White composes a song on-camera at a Tennessee farmhouse, and the Edge lays down tracks for a U2 single.

It's directed by Davis Guggenheim, who also directed Al Gore's Oscar-winning global-warming documentary, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' along with a slew of critically acclaimed TV series.

'It Might Get Loud' sets out to explain the influence of electric guitars on our lives in a way that hasn't been attempted before -- by intertwining the intimate stories of three who have famously mastered it. We are treated to small personal moments from three very different lives and careers, shot over the course of a year on two continents and artfully woven together, culminating in a combined jam that was shot with seven cameras on a Hollywood sound stage .

Says Guggenheim: "I hope the audience will fall in love with these guys as much as I did, not just as rock stars, but as individuals and artists who turned their individual life experiences into music: beautiful, raw, in-your-face, visceral, and transcendent."

The film succeeds in capturing what collectively excites us about electric guitars through the prism of three strong protagonists and their private journeys. And in the great rock 'n' roll spirit, those individual solos build to a tour de force ensemble climax.

One element that distinguishes this documentary style is that the filmmaker has imposed his own template and agenda -- bringing together three people who would not have otherwise assembled but for this film.

Lesson for videojournalists: Look for instances in which it makes narrative sense to physically bring together characters who might not otherwise meet. Their natural interactions and conversations can be exponentially more colorful and illuminating than anything that might be revealed through individual talking-head interviews.