In recent years, hard-hitting, timely films have taken the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature: No Other Land this past year; 20 Days in Mariupol the year before, and Navalny in 2023.
Will it be another urgent, political or war-themed film that takes the prize when the next Academy Awards roll around? Or perhaps it will be a film whose social import comes with a rhythmic beat, like 2022 winner Summer of Soul? It’s early to be discussing Oscar contenders – but not too early, at least in the collective wisdom of John Ridley and Matt Carey, hosts of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast. In today’s episode, we dive in where others fear to leap, joined by journalist and film critic Lauren Wissot, contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine and Documentary magazine.
Two recent Oscar winners have emerged as early contenders: Mstyslav Chernov, the 20 Days in Mariupol director who returns with 2000 Meters to Andriivka, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who follows up Summer of Soul with Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius). Investigative journalist Christo Grosev, one of the heroes of Navalny, could factor in the Oscar race as the focus of Antidote, the documentary directed by James Jones that has been acquired by Frontline.
Brittany Shine’s documentary Seeds, though it hasn’t nailed down distribution yet, has already claimed numerous awards. The Perfect Neighbor, the Geeta Gandbhir film acquired by Netflix, will make a strong bid. Ridley and Wissot predict a healthy afterlife for Life After, the sophomore feature film from Reid Davenport.
A surprise hit about an immensely popular artist who spectacularly fell from grace is gaining traction. So too is a novel take on the dynamics of Israeli Palestinian relations, and a film about a “nobody” who took on one of the world’s most powerful leaders. And we discuss the awards potential for a film set in China where you can hire someone to break up an affair, and a documentary in which right-wing religious ideologues become an ominous political force.
We also cast our votes for the films we ardently want to see in the Oscar race, including one about a renowned filmmaker with a disturbing Nazi past.
That’s on the new episode of Doc Talk, hosted by Oscar winner Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Shirley) and Carey, Deadline’s documentary editor. The pod is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios.
Listen to the episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.
