All About Documentaries and The Oscars

The Nominated Films and Filmmakers: In the eyes of the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences these documentaries are best released during 2007. Three of them deal with America at war, one with the failure of America's health care system and one with how tribal dancing helps children survive in civil war-torn Uganda. These are last year's must-see documentaries. Have you seen them yet?

• No End In Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq - Charles Ferguson
• Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience - Richard Robbins
• Sicko- Michael Moore

• Taxi To The Dark Side - Alex Gibney
• War Dance - Co-directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix

Leading Up To The Nominations: Hundreds of films are submitted to the Academy for consideration. These are whittled down to a short list of fifteen films. Of these, five are actually nominated.

• Eligibility Requirements for Documentary Features
• Oscars Documentaries Shortlist for 2007

Where to Watch Nominated Documentaries: To qualify for consideration, all nominated films must have played at a general admission movie theater for at least a week in both NY and LA, and then rolled out to limited release in other markets. These films also played at film festivals across the country. But if you missed them, you can find Sicko, Operation Homecoming and No End In Sight on DVD. War Dance is still playing at theaters in selected markets, and will be released on DVD in April. Taxi To The Dark Side opened in theaters mid-January and doesn't yet have a DVD release date. The film that wins will surely find its way into theaters around the country.

Where to Watch The Oscars: Frankly, your best bet is at home or at a friend's, in front of a large screen TV. That said, the still-unsettled Writers Guild of America strike may interfere with this year's Oscars ceremonies and broadcast, as it did with the Golden Globes event. But, at this time, the gala is still scheduled to take place at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, February 24. Red carpet bleecher tickets were distributed long ago, but you can witness all the hoopla--including the very small part of it that's dedicated to documentary film--on ABC TV. If you're feeling participatory, why not give an Oscars Party?

How to Raise Your Oscars IQ: Whether you're at an Oscars party or enter into a heated debate with a friend after seeing one of the provocative Best Documentary Feature nominees, you'll want to have some Oscars facts on the tip of your tongue. Here are some good Oscar trivia sources:

• Best Documentaries 2000 to 2006
• Best Documentaries 1990 to 1999
• Best Documentaries 1980 to 1989

Do you Agree With the Choices?: If you've seen any documentaries during this past year, you undoubtedly have your own favorites. Do they coincide with the films selected by Academy members for nomination? Some of mine do. You can check my favorite documentary films of 2007 by taking a peek at my Top Ten Documentary Films of 2007.