Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature – 144 Non-Fiction Films Seek Academy Recognition

Rank Film Director(s) and Producer(s) Distributor 1 “Good Night Oppy” Ryan White (director), Brandon Carroll, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Matt Goldberg, Jessica Hargrave (producers) Amazon Studios The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years. 2 “All That Breathes” Shaunak Sen (director and producer), Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann (producers) HBO Documentary Films / Sideshow The darkening backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite. 3 “Fire of Love” Sara Dosa (director, producer), Shane Boris, Ina Fichman (producers) National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded. 4 “Descendant” Margaret Brown (director, producer), Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin (producers) Netflix Follows descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States, as they reclaim their story. 5 “Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” Lizzie Gottlieb (director, producer), Joanne Nerenberg, Jen Small (producers) Sony Pictures Classics Follows the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro and his editor, the literary giant Robert Gottlieb, in this chronicle of a unique 50-year professional relationship. Next in Line 6 “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” Laura Poitras (director and producer), Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John S. Lyons (producers) Neon It follows the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic’s unfathomable death toll. 7 “Retrograde” Matthew Heineman (director), Caitlin McNally (producer) National Geographic Films Tells the story of the last months of the 20-year war in Afghanistan through the intimate relationship between American Green Berets and the Afghan officers they trained. 8 “Sr.” Chris Smith (director), Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Emily Barclay Ford, Kevin Ford (producers) Netflix Follow the tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey, Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1960s. 9 “Bad Axe” David Siev (director, producer), Jude Harris, Diane-Moy Quon, Katarina Vasquez (producers) IFC Films A real-time portrait of 2020 unfolds as an Asian-American family in Trump’s rural America fights to keep their restaurant and American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars from the Killing Fields. 10 “Navalny” Daniel Roher (director), Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae (producers) CNN/Warner Bros. Follows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home Other Top-Tier Contenders 11 “The Territory” Alex Pritz (director, producer), Darren Aronofsky, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett, Will N. Miller, Gabriel Uchida National Geographic 12 “Aftershock” Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee (directors) Hulu/Onyx 13 “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine (directors, producers) Sony Pictures Classics 14 “Nothing Compares” Kathryn Ferguson (director), Eleanor Emptage, Michael Mallie (producers) Showtime 15 “Last Flight Home” Ondi Timoner (director), David Turner (producer) MTV Documentary Films 16 “Is That Black Enough for You?” Elvis Mitchell (director), Ciara Lacy (producer) Netflix 17 “Moonage Daydream” Brett Morgen (director, producer) Neon 18 “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” Sacha Jenkins (director, producer), Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Julie Anderson (producers) Apple Original Films 19 “I Didn’t See You There” Reid Davenport (director), Keith Wilson (producer) POV 20 “Riotsville, U.S.A.” Sierra Pettengill (director), Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot (producers) Magnolia Pictures Also In Contention 21 “The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile” Kathlyn Horan (director), Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn (producers) Sony Pictures Classics 22 “Gabby Giffords; Won’t Back Down” Julie Cohen, Betsy West (directors), Lisa Erspamer, Sam Jinishian (producers) Briarcliff Entertainment 23 “Sidney” Derik Murray (director), Oprah Winfrey (producer) Apple Original Films 24 “In Her Hands” Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen (directors), Juan Camilo Cruz, Jonathan Schaerf (producers) Netflix 25 “Bitterbrush” Emelie Mahdavian (director, producer), Su Kim (producer) Magnolia Pictures 26 “Eternal Spring” Jason Loftus (director, producer), Kevin Koo, Yvan Pinard Lofty Sky Distribution 27 “Let Me Be Me” Dan Crane, Katie Taber (director), Joe Plummer (producer) Greenwich Entertainment 28 “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” Evgeny Afineevsky (director, producer), Inna Goncharova, Galyna Sadomtseva-Nabaranchuk, Shahida Tulaganova, Will Znidaric (producers) Self-Distributed 29 “Beba” Rebecca Huntt (director) Neon 30 “Wildcat” Trevor Beck Frost, Melissa Lesh (directors), Alysa Nahmias, Joshua Altman (producers) Amazon Studios All Contenders Listed (Unranked-Alphabetical) — “2nd Chance” Ramin Bahrani (director, producer), Charles Dorfman, Johnny Galvin, Jacob Grodnik, Daniel M. Turcan (producer) Showtime — “752 Is Not a Number” To be added To be added — “A House Made of Splinters” Simon Lereng Wilmont (director), Monica Hellström (producer) Madman Entertainment — “A Star Without a Star” Kirk E. Kelleykahn (director, producer), Darnell W. Tyler, Tracy Wren (producers) No U.S. Distribution — “Aftershock” Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee (directors) Hulu/Onyx — “All That Breathes” Shaunak Sen (director and producer), Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann (producers) HBO Documentary Films — “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” Laura Poitras (director and producer), Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John S. Lyons (producers) Neon — “America Boxed In” To be added To be added — “Anonymous Club” To be added To be added — “Art & Krimes by Krimes” Alysa Nahmias (director) MTV Documentary Films — “At Home Walking” To be added To be added — “Bad Axe” David Siev (director, producer), Jude Harris, Diane-Moy Quon, Katarina Vasquez (producers) IFC Films — “Battleground” Cynthia Lowen (director, producer), Rebecca Stern (producer) Abramorama — “Beba” Rebecca Huntt (director) Neon — “Bitterbrush” Emelie Mahdavian (director, producer), Su Kim (producer) Magnolia Pictures — “Black Ice” Hubert Davis (director), Vinay Virmani (producer) Elevation Pictures — “Black Notebooks – Ronit” To be added To be added — “Blue Island” Tze Woon Chan (director), Peter Yam (producer) Icarus Films — “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” Nina Menkes (director, producer), Dehanza Rogers (producer) Kino Lorber — “Breaking Bread” To be added To be added — “Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche” Jared Drake, Steven Siig (directors) Greenwich Entertainment — “Calendar Girls” To be added To be added — “Cat Daddies” To be added To be added — “Children of the Mist” To be added To be added — “Civil” Nadia Hallgren (director, producer), Kenya Barris, Roger Ross Williams (producers) Netflix — “Claydream” To be added To be added — “Cow” Andrea Arnold (director), Kat Mansoor (producer) IFC Films — “Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story” To be added To be added — “Descendant” Margaret Brown (director, producer), Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin (producers) Netflix — “Disturbed Earth” To be added To be added — “Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel” To be added To be added — “Eami” To be added To be added — “Eternal Spring” Jason Loftus (director, producer), Kevin Koo, Yvan Pinard Self-Distributed — “Exposure” To be added To be added — “Fanny: The Right to Rock” To be added To be added — “Father” To be added To be added — “Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen” To be added To be added — “Fire of Love” Sara Dosa (director, producer), Shane Boris, Ina Fichman (producers) National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon — “Four Winters” To be added To be added — “Framing Agnes” Chase Joynt (director, producer), Morgan M. Page (producer) Kino Lorber — “Free Chol Soo Lee” To be added To be added — “Free Puppies!” To be added To be added — “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” Evgeny Afineevsky (director, producer), Inna Goncharova, Galyna Sadomtseva-Nabaranchuk, Shahida Tulaganova, Will Znidaric (producers) Self-Distributed — “From the Hood to the Holler” To be added To be added — “Gabby Giffords; Won’t Back Down” Julie Cohen, Betsy West (directors), Lisa Erspamer, Sam Jinishian (producers) Briarcliff Entertainment — “Gamestop: Rise of the Players” To be added To be added — “Girl, Taken” To be added To be added — “Good Night Oppy” Ryan White (director), Matt Carroll, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Matt Goldberg, Jessica Hargrave (producers) Amazon Studios — “Gratitude Revealed” To be added To be added — “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine (directors, producers) Sony Pictures Classics — “Hello, Bookstore” A.B. Zax (director, producer), Mark Franks, Melissa Nathan, Sydney Flint (producers) Greenwich Entertainment — “Hidden Letters” Violet Du Feng (director, producer), Mette Cheng Munthe Kaas, Su Kim, Jean Tsien (producers) Cargo Film & Releasing — “Hold Your Fire” To be added To be added — “How to Survive a Pandemic” To be added To be added — “I Am Here” To be added To be added — “I Didn’t See You There” Reid Davenport (director), Keith Wilson (producer) POV — “I’m Wanita” To be added To be added — “In Her Hands” Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen (directors), Juan Camilo Cruz, Jonathan Schaerf (producers) Netflix — “Invisible Demons” To be added To be added — “Is That Black Enough for You?” Elvis Mitchell (director), Ciara Lacy (producer) Netflix — “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” Frank Marshall, Ryan Suffern (directors, producers), Sean M. Stuart (producer) Sony Pictures Classics — “Katrina Babies” To be added To be added — “Keep Stepping” To be added To be added — “Killing Me Softly with His Songs” To be added To be added — “Las Hostilidades” To be added To be added — “Last Flight Home” Ondi Timoner (director), David Turner (producer) MTV Documentary Films — “Leave No Trace” To be added To be added — “Let Me Be Me” Dan Crane, Katie Taber (director), Joe Plummer (producer) Greenwich Entertainment — “Let the Little Light Shine” To be added To be added — “Life & Life” To be added To be added — “Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege” To be added To be added — “Look at Me: XXXtentacion” To be added To be added — “Loudmouth” Josh Alexander (director, producer), Daniel J. Chalfen, Mike Jackson, Kedar Massenburg (producers) To be added — “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” Sacha Jenkins (director, producer), Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Julie Anderson (producers) Apple Original Films — “Loving Highsmith” To be added To be added — “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power” Geeta Gandbhir, Sam Pollard (directors), Jessica Devaney, Dema Paxton Fofang, Anya Rous (producers) Greenwich Entertainment — “Master of Light” To be added To be added — “Midwives” Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (director, producer), Mila Aung-Thwin, Ulla Lehmann, Bob Moore (producers) POV — “Mija” Isabel Castro (director, producer), Tabitha Breese, Yesenia Tiahuel (producers) Walt Disney Pictures — “Moonage Daydream” Brett Morgen (director, producer) Neon — “Motherland” To be added To be added — “Mr. Landsbergis” To be added To be added — “My Old School” Jono McLeod (director), John Archer, Olivia Lichtenstein (producers) Magnolia Pictures — “Myanmar Diaries” To be added To be added — “Navalny” Daniel Roher (director), Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae (producers) CNN/Warner Bros. — “Nelly & Nadine” To be added To be added — “Nothing Compares” Kathryn Ferguson (director), Eleanor Emptage, Michael Mallie (producers) Showtime — “Nothing Lasts Forever” Jason Kohn (director, producer), Amanda Branson Gill, Jared Goldman (producers) Showtime — “Oleg” To be added To be added — “Only in Theaters” To be added To be added — “Our American Family” To be added To be added — “Out of Breath” To be added To be added — “Project Iceman” To be added To be added — “Punch 9 for Harold Washington” To be added To be added — “Retrograde” Matthew Heineman (director), Caitlin McNally (producer) National Geographic Films — “Riotsville, U.S.A.” Sierra Pettengill (director), Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot (producers) Magnolia Pictures — “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” Luca Guadgnino (producer), Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Gabriele Moratti (producers) Sony Pictures Classics — “Sansón and Me” To be added To be added — “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” Alek Keshishian (director, producer), Michelle An, Caitlin Daley, Aleen Keshishian, Katherine LeBlonde, Stephanie Meurer, Zack Morgenroth (producers) Apple Original Films — “Send Me” To be added To be added — “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic” To be added To be added — “Sidney” Derik Murray (director), Oprah Winfrey (producer) Apple Original Films — “Sirens” To be added To be added — “Souls in Transit” To be added To be added — “Sr.” Chris Smith (director), Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Emily Barclay Ford, Kevin Ford (producers) Netflix — “Stutz” To be added To be added — “Surviving Sex Trafficking” To be added To be added — “Tantura” To be added To be added — “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes (directors) Fork Films — “The Automat” Lisa Hurwitz (director, producer), Alec Shuldiner (producer) Self-Distributed — “The Balcony Movie” To be added To be added — “The Bengali To be added To be added — “The Book Keepers” To be added To be added — “The Camera of Doctor Morris” To be added To be added — “The Cathedral” To be added To be added — “The Corridors of Powers” Dror Moreh (director, producer), Sol Goodman, Estelle Fialon (producers) Showtime — “The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie” To be added To be added — “The Eclipse” To be added To be added — “The Exiles” Ben Klein, Violet Columbus (directors) No U.S. distribution — “The Human Trial” To be added To be added — “The Janes” Tia Lessin (director), Emma Pildes (producer and director), Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin (producers) HBO Documentary Films — “The Last of the Winthrops” To be added To be added — “The New Abolitionists” To be added To be added — “The Princess” Ed Perkins (director), Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn (producers) HBO — “The Quiet Epidemic” To be added To be added — “The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile” Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Kathlyn Horan Sony Pictures Classics — “The Silence of the Mole” To be added To be added — “The Story Won’t Die” To be added To be added — “The Territory” Alex Pritz (director, producer), Darren Aronofsky, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett, Will N. Miller, Gabriel Uchida (producers) National Geographic — “The Unredacted (Jihad Rehab)” To be added To be added — “The Voice of Dust and Ash” Mandana Biscotti (producer), Frank Coraci, Fuschia Sumner (producers) Matilda Productions — “The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari” Rory Kennedy (director, producer), Mark Bailey, Sara Bernstein, Dallas Brennan, Justin Wilkes (producers) Netflix — “The Will to See” To be added To be added — “The Wind Blows the Border” To be added To be added — “Three Minutes — A Lengthening” Bianca Stigter (director), Floor Onrust (producer) Neon/Super — “Tiger 24” To be added To be added — “To the End” To be added To be added — “Trenches” To be added To be added — “Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” Lizzie Gottlieb (director, producer), Joanne Nerenberg, Jen Small (producers) Sony Pictures Classics — “Users” To be added To be added — “We Are Art Through the Eyes of Annalaura” Annalaura di Luggo (director, producer) No U.S. distribution — “What We Leave Behind” Iliana Sosa (director, producer), Emma D. Miller (producer) ARRAY — “Wildcat” Trevor Beck Frost, Melissa Lesh (directors), Alysa Nahmias, Joshua Altman (producers) Amazon Studios — “Young Plato” To be added To be added — “¡Viva Maestro!” To be added To be added