The documentary field in 2013 may be the strongest of any year to date. The Act of Killing was nominated, which is good, as there likely would have been some kind of riot from its many passionate advocates. 20 Feet From Stardom is outstanding, and it’s nice to see it recognized. I have yet to see The Square, but those who have hail it as a masterpiece.
There were literally dozens of docs that could have been nominated this year, including Tim’s Vermeer, At Berkeley, After Tiller, The Crash Reel (my personal favorite documentary of the year), The Armstrong Lie, and many more.
I think that people will be most disappointed that Blackfish was not included though, and as many have pointed out already, the big winner of the day might be SeaWorld, who are the primary target of the scathing documentary for their mistreatment of marine mammals. The movie has already garnered a lot of attention on CNN and elsewhere, and SeaWorld has been making statements left and right claiming the movie is misleading and a misrepresentation of their practices. I’m of the opinion that it deserved to be listed with the other great documentaries of the year, maybe in place of Dirty Wars, although that was a great and revelatory film.
Either way, SeaWorld is likely breathing a sigh of relief, as this is one category where inclusion can actually make a real life difference for some of the causes behind the movies that were made.
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