Oscars 2017: Dark Horse/Upset Predictions
By Jenn Reid
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM: 13th
Frontrunner: OJ: Made in America
Potential Upset: 13th
Best Documentary Feature is a weird category this year. The frontrunner is a beautifully made, entertaining, surprisingly relevant TV series.
OJ: Made in America (not to be confused with the other OJ show, American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson) is an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that was developed for television. It consists of five episodes, each clocking in at about 90 minutes for a total runtime of 467 minutes. It is a TV series and not a movie. It qualifies for the Oscar because it was screened at film festivals in a marathon format and had a brief theatrical run before it aired on TV. It’s really, really good! But it’s not a movie.
Despite not being a movie, OJ: Made in America has won a slew of documentary film awards and is the current one to beat, out ahead of Ava DuVerney’s actual documentary film, 13th.
13th is a powerful documentary that explores how race and justice intersect and lead to the problems of mass incarceration in the United States. The documentary starts at the Civil War and traces through the history of lynchings, Jim Crow, the War on Drugs and everything that leads to the disenfranchisement and mass incarceration of people of color in America.
It is meticulous in its facts, but still easy to follow and has racked up critical acclaim and numerous awards to date. Academy voters might have trouble settling in for a seven-hour marathon and opt for the film 13th instead.
All will be revealed when the Oscars air on Feb. 26.