Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
AMPAS announced February 8 the five 2022 Feature and 5 Short Documentary Oscar nominations. The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will take place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on March 27 and will be available to watch in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Documentary Feature nominations
- Ascension by Jessica Kingdon. An absorbingly cinematic doc that explores the pursuit of the “Chinese Dream,” presenting a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.
- Attica by Traci Curry/Stanley Nelson. A deep dive into the 1971 uprising that sheds new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system and highlights the urgent need for reform even 50 years later.
- Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (also nominated in International Feature and Animation category). The extraordinary true story of Amin, an Afghan refugee who came to Denmark at an early age as an unaccompanied minor, who reveals his hidden past for the first time.
- Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. A feature documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American music and culture, and promoted Black pride and unity.
- Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh. Within a male-centric news landscape emerges India’s only newspaper run by brave, diligent and immensely skilled Dalit women.
Documentary Short nominations
- Audible by Matt Ogens. Shaken by a friend’s suicide, a deaf high school football player copes with family and relationships while anticipating his final homecoming game.
- Lead Me Home by Pedro Kos, Jon Shenk. Fighting just to survive, California’s homeless population suffers as housing costs soar, pushing more of the disadvantaged onto the streets.
- The Queen of Basketball by Ben Proudfoot. A documentary about Lusia “Lucy” Harris Stewart, a pioneer in women’s basketball who led a rural Mississippi college to three national titles and the first and only woman to be drafted into the NBA.
- Three Songs for Benazir by Elizabeth Mirzaei/Gulistan Mirzaei. The story of Shaista, from Kabul, who struggles to balance his dreams of joining the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family.
- When We Were Bullies by Jay Rosenblatt. Filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt tracks down his fifth-grade class and teacher to examine their memory of, and complicity in, a bullying incident 50 years ago.
More to follow…
