This year’s Oscar race for documentary feature, as every other year, includes films made by veteran directors. Oscar-win- ner Laura Poitras (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”), Primetime Emmy nominee Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”) and two-time Sundance grand jury prize winner Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) are among the seasoned helmers vying for a spot on the documentary shortlist, released Dec. 21.
But alongside the vets are a slew of directors who are relatively new to the scene with docs that are garnering praise and plenty of hardware. Those helmers include Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love’’), Edward Buckles Jr. (“Katrina Babies’’) Isabel Castro (“Mija”), Daniel Roher (“Navalny”) and Alex Pritz (“The Territory’’).
It’s never easy being new to the game, but if you’re a documentary filmmaker it can have its advantages, especially come Oscar season. The old guard continuously welcomes newcomers with open arms. Proof is in the past decade of winners, which include first-time filmmakers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (“Summer of Soul”), Pippa Ehrlich (co-director of “My Octopus Teacher”), Ezra Edelman (“O.J.: Made in America”) and Malik Bendjelloul (“Searching for Sugar Man”).
As the most geo-diverse AMPAS branch, it’s not surprising that the nonfiction divison also recognizes films made by directors who don’t reside in North America. This year helmers from around the globe including Shaunak Sen (“All that Breathes”), Simon Lereng Wilmont (“A House Made of Splinters”), Dror Moreh (“The Corridors of Powers”), Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen (“In Her Hands”), have all proven that they are strong contenders in this year’s race for Oscar glory.
While it’s impossible to predict which helmers will make the Oscar shortlist, nominations from other orgs give a clue as to what’s to come. Last month White’s “Good Night Oppy” garnered the feature prize at the seventh annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards. In all, the docu won five awards, including for director. Meanwhile, Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Poitras (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”), Sen (“All That Breathes”) and Wilmont (“A House Made of Splinters”) were all nominated for an Intl. Documentary Assn. director kudo. Last year, Questlove took home that award.