EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, INSIDE JOB on Shortlist for Best Documentary Oscar Nominations; CATFISH Shut Out

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released their shortlist of 15 documentaries that have advanced in the voting for Best Documentary nominations.  The list includes Charles Ferguson’s Inside Job, Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for Superman, and, one of my favorite films of the year, Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop.  Unfortunately, the documentary Catfish was shutout.  While some have speculated that it’s because of controversy regarding the documentary’s authenticity, that same controversy of “realism” also surrounds Exit Through the Gift Shop.  However, as long as Gift Shop continues to have a shot at the top prize, I’m happy (although Inside Job and Waiting for Superman are also quality films).

Hit the jump for the press release and a list of the final 15 contenders.  The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on January 25, 2011.

Here’s the press release:

Beverly Hills, CA (November 18, 2010) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. One hundred-one pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

• “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” Alex Gibney, director (ES Productions LLC)
• “Enemies of the People” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
• “Gasland” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
• “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors
  (White Pine Pictures)
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
• “The Lottery” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
• “Precious Life” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) “Megamind”
• “Quest for Honor” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
• “This Way of Life” Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)
• “The Tillman Story” Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion Pictures/Axis Films)
• “Waiting for ‘Superman” Davis Guggenheim, director (Electric Kinney Films)
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)
• “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, directors (Disturbing the Universe LLC)

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.