Where to Watch the Films on the 2017 Oscar Documentary Feature Shortlist
Awards season is upon us, which means it’s time to start catching up on all the great films that came out this year. Trust us, doing a little bit of homework now will pay off come Oscar pool time. To help steer you in the right direction, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released its shortlist of documentary feature Oscar contenders. This year’s group consists of films dealing with race, politics and personal stories. Many of the films were in theaters earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t available for viewing now. Below, you’ll find a handy dandy list of the 15 films that made the Academy’s cut and ways that you can view them in New York City and beyond.
Cameraperson
Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson is a spellbinding memoir composed from footage she shot all over the world while working on various film projects. The documentary screened at both Sundance and New Directors/New Films and is playing at IFC Center through December 8. It will also screen at MoMA on December 10 as part of The Contenders series with director Kirsten Johnson present for a post-screening Q&A. UPDATE: Cameraperson is now available on iTunes, Amazon Video, and Google Play.
Command and Control
Based on the critically-acclaimed book by Eric Schlosser, Robert Kenner’s documentary exposes the terrifying truth about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal and shows what can happen when the weapons built to protect us threaten to destroy us. Command and Control had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and enjoyed a theatrical run at the Film Forum in September. The film kicks off American Experience’s Winter-Spring 2017 lineup and will air on PBS on January 10.
Otto Bell’s The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to be an eagle hunter. The documentary is currently playing at the Landmark Sunshine and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and will be expanding to other theaters in the coming weeks. Check the film’s website for details.
Gianfranco Rosi pulls focus on the European migrant crisis in Fire at Sea. Having the distinction of being the first documentary ever to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, Fire at Sea screened at the New York Film Festival and had a limited theatrical run in the city. The film was also featured in a retrospective of Rosi’s work at BAM earlier this fall. Still in theaters in certain parts of the country, New Yorkers have a chance to catch the film on December 10 when it screens at MoMA in The Contenders series. UPDATE: Fire at Sea is playing at IFC Center through January 12. The film premieres on VOD (iTunes, Amazon and Vudu) on February 17.
Gleason, which had its world premiere at Sundance, is about New Orleans Saints star defensive back Steve Gleason and the inspirational journey he embarked upon after being diagnosed with ALS. The film had a theatrical run in New York in July and is now available to purchase or stream online. For information, visit the film’s website.
Hooligan Sparrow
Nanfu Wang’s documentary follows activist Ye Haiyan (aka Hooligan Sparrow) as she travels to southern China to seek justice in the case of six elementary school girls allegedly sexually abused by their principal. Wang premiered the film at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Following a theatrical run this past summer, the film premiered on PBS in October and is being released on DVD via Kino Lorber on December 13. You can preorder it here or catch it on iTunes.
At the time of his death, James Baldwin had been working on a novel that recounted the lives and tragic deaths of friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. With I Am Not Your Negro, filmmaker Raoul Peck uses Baldwin’s own words to envision an ending to the writer’s unfinished project. Magnolia Pictures is releasing Peck’s documentary theatrically on February 3. If you can’t wait until then to see it, you can catch a sneak preview of the film on Wednesday, December 7 at BAM followed by a Q&A between Peck and filmmaker Nelson George. The film is also getting a special preview engagement at Metrograph from December 9-15. Q&As with Peck will following the 6:30pm screenings on December 14 and 15.
Directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson, and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, The Ivory Game exposes the dark world of ivory trafficking. One of four original documentaries that Netflix premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, the film is available for viewing now on Netflix.
Life, Animated finds Academy Award winning director Roger Ross Williams exploring the story of Owen Suskind, a young autistic man who learns to communicate through his love of Disney films. Winner of the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, the documentary was in theaters over the summer. It can currently available for streaming via YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and Google Play. UPDATE: Life, Animated is returning to theaters. It will play at IFC Center from January 6-12, 2017.
Ezra Edelman‘s epic 7 1/2-hour documentary examines race relations over the last few decades through the lens of OJ Simpson’s rise and fall. In New York City, O.J.: Made in America will be screening in its entirety at Metrograph on Saturday, December 17, and at MoMA in The Contenders on Sunday, December 18 with post-screening Q&As with Edelman. The film is also available on DVD and can be streamed online via ESPN, if you are a cable subscriber, or over at Hulu, if you are a subscriber.
Ava DuVernay examines the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom in her riveting Netflix documentary 13th. The film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in September. It is currently available for viewing on Netflix.
Keith Maitland deftly combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation to revisit the tragic events that transpired on August 1, 1966 when a sniper situated himself on the tower at the University of Texas in Austin and opened fire on the campus. The documentary played at Film Forum in October. It is expected to be available on iTunes on January 10, 2017. For other theatrical screenings visit the film’s website. UPDATE: 12/16: Tower is screening at DCTV on Tuesday, December 20. The screening is free and will be followed by a Q&A with the director. For more information and to RSVP go here.
Weiner
Former Rep. Anthony Weiner appears to be his own worst enemy. In Weiner, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s document the politican’s 2013 run for mayor, which is cut short due to a new sex scandal. Weiner had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, enjoyed a theatrical run over the summer and is now available for viewing on Showtime. For those who don’t have access to the cable station, the doc can also be purchased via YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and Google Play.
The Witness revisits the brutal headline-grabbing murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, Queens in 1964. According to a story which ran in the New York Times at that time, 38 witnesses watched from their apartments as Kitty was attacked. Kitty’s brother Bill Genovese is found investigating what took place that night in James D. Solomon’s new thought-provoking documentary. The film is available now On Demand and will have its TV premiere on PBS – Independent Lens on January 23, 2017. It will also be screening at the Museum of the City of New York on January 25, 2017 as part of the museum’s Smile, It’s Your Close Up: New York’s Documentaries series (tickets). The director and Bill Genovese will be present for a Q&A following the screening. UPDATE 12/16: The Witness has returned to IFC Center.
Filmmaker Alex Gibney delves into the burgeoning world of digital warfare in Zero Days. The film is available for viewing on Showtime and On Demand now, and will be released on DVD on January 17, 2017.