And the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Goes to …

On my Twitter feed, I mentioned that the only real surprise I saw while briefly scanning the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards was that of The Secret of Kells in the best animated feature category. To be honest, I’d never even heard of the picture.

That isn’t to say there weren’t other disappointments. They just weren’t surprising because they’re of the perennial variety. Leading the list of yearly disappointments is the feature documentary category: Instead of nominating a fun picture that audiences loved — something along the lines of Anvil! The Story of Anvil or Best Worst Movie — they went with five predictably liberal movies that celebrated all the right things: Environmentalism, Watergate-era journalism, etc.

Like I said, this isn’t surprising. Think of 2007, when The King of Kong — a sweet, penetrating look at the nerdy world of hardcore classic video gaming — wasn’t nominated. Instead the Academy nominated five predictably liberal movies that celebrated all the right things: Environmentalism, Michael Moore’s ego, etc. If the Academy was interested in renewing audience interest in the form as a whole they would be well-served choosing some pictures that are a.) entertaining, and b.) a little out of the Academy’s comfort zone. Every once in a while they surprise us with a good pick along those lines — Murderball in 2005, say — but all too often it’s more of the same. Which is a shame, because, as Silverdocs shows, there are a ton of interesting documentaries out there.

(As an aside, I was also disappointed that Mugabe and the White African didn’t garner a nod. Not surprised, just disappointed. You should check it out when it hits DVD. My thoughts from Silverdocs here.)