While the Oscar races for prizes like Best Picture will remain a mystery for the next few months, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has narrowed the field for another Oscar category: Best Documentary Short Subject.
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The Academy announced today the eight contenders who will be vying for the final five spots. The Documentary Branch of the Acaedmy whittled the field down from 58 eligible contenders to these eight.
1. Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Perry Films
2. Joanna, Wajda Studio
3. Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace, Show of Force
4. The Lion’s Mouth Opens, Tree Tree Tree
5. One Child, New York University
6. Our Curse, Warsaw Film School
7. The Reaper (La Parka), Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica
8. White Earth, Weary Traveler
Crisis Hotline, a look at the traumas faced by American veterans, hails from HBO. Joanna tells the story of a mother with an incurable illness who writes down everything she would have wanted to teach her son. PBS’ Kehinde Wiley traces the work of the titular New York-based artist Wiley. The Lion’s Mouth tells the story of a woman confronting the risk of inheriting Huntington’s disease.
One Child follows three families from Beichuan, China, grappling with the loss of their children and attempting to restore normalcy to their lives. Our Curse was made by a father as he and his wife dealt with their newborn child’s case of Odine’s disease. The Reaper recounts a man’s work for over 25 years at a slaughterhouse. And White Earth takes a look at North Dakota’s oil boom.
Final nominations for the Oscars will be announced on Jan. 15, 2015
