Oscar Documentary Rules!

Sullywatch links to the Oscar rules for documentaries (rules in progress, so only a few categories are up), from which we learn that the Academy's definition is:

An eligible documentary film is defined as a theatrically released non-fiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects. It may be photographed in actual occurrence, or may employ partial re-enactment, stock footage, stills, animation, stop-motion or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact and not on fiction.

None of the hyper-literal, re-enactment banning stuff that I expected to see. Hell, it doesn't even have to be true! That should shut up the anti-Moore activist I heard on NPR about a month ago, claiming that Bowling for Columbine was a sham because they put a dog in a hunting jacket or something. (Oh, all right.)

I also noticed this mystifying clause:

An Animated Documentary Short Subject may be submitted in either the Documentary Short Subject category or the Animated Short Film category, but not both.

An...animated...documentary?

Well, it turns out this form goes all the way back to the legendary Winsdor McKay, who did a short called The Sinking of the Lusitania in 1916. There's 11 more current ones here. The one with the childrens' interviews put in the mouth of birds brings to mind Nick Parks' Creature Comforts, which I guess must also qualify. Who knew?


- posted by Don Porges @ 7/05/2004 04:19:00 PM |