The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the 15 documentaries that will compete at the Academy Awards.
The films in the list included front-runners "Tim Vermeer," recent Gotham award-winner "The Act of Killing," "The Armstrong Lie" and "The Square." Recent New York Film Critics winner "Stories We Tell" will also compete for the award.
A couple of surprises include "The Crash Reel," "First Cousin: Once Removed," "Life According to Sam" and "Twenty Feet to Stardom."
A number of films that were considered contenders for the award did not get into the list: "A River Changes Course," "At Berkeley," "Call me Kuchu" and "The Missing Picture." The Academy reported that 147 films were considered before releasing the top 15.
The Academy's list included four of the five films competing at this Friday's Intl. Documentary Association Ceremony: "The Act of Killing," "Blackfish," "The Square" and "Stories We Tell." The fifth IDA contender is "Let the Fire Burn," an acclaimed film that failed to make the cut with the Academy. Other films omitted were Indie Spirit Award nominees "After Tiller" and "Gideon's Army," as well as Producers Guild nomiees "A Place at the Table," "Far Out Isn't Enough" and "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks."
The Academy has awarded a number of documentaries in the past years including "Searching for Sugarman," "Undefeated," "Inside Job," "The Cove" and "An Inconvenient Truth."
The Oscars will hand out their nominations on Jan. 16 and will hand out their awards on March 2.