Copyright Variety
The race for the documentary feature Academy Award spotlights quality filmmaking, but also requires a whole lot of money and the support of international doc branch voters. This year’s crop of top contenders includes films about investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, America’s corrupt prison system, George Orwell, the Israel-Hamas war, racism in America and Leni Riefenstahl. While docs about boldface names are in the mix, this year’s Oscar race includes very few celebrity-driven films. Here’s a run-down of the top contenders. 2000 Meters to Andriivka DIRECTOR Mstyslav Chernov PRODUCERS Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath, the Associated Press DISTRIBUTOR Frontline The film, which follows a Ukrainian platoon’s mission to liberate the occupied village of Andriivka from Russian troops, is also Ukraine’s Oscar entry in the international feature category and Chernov’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning doc “20 Days in Mariupol.” After debuting at Sundance 2025, the film won Chernov the best directing award in the World Documentary program. The Alabama Solution DIRECTORS Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman PRODUCERS Jarecki, Kaufman DISTRIBUTOR HBO A powerful exposé of the inhumanity of the American prison system, the doc, which bowed at Sundance, is built from footage that incarcerated men secretly recorded with contraband cell phones. Jarecki (“The Jinx”) and Kaufman’s ability to penetrate the walls of secrecy results in an unfiltered view of prison privatization, inmate slave labor, abuse of power, government corruption and extreme violence. It’s a deeply disturbing yet vital watch that should appeal to voters. Come See Me in the Good Light DIRECTOR Ryan White PRODUCERS White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen DISTRIBUTOR Apple TV+ The film follows poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley as their love deepens, and the couple finds newfound appreciation for the preciousness of life after a terminal illness diagnosis. The doc has won several film fest audience awards, including the coveted Sundance 2025 Festival Favorite kudo. White’s film also won the audience award at the Boulder Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Cover-Up DIRECTOR Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus PRODUCERS Yoni Golijov, Poitras, Obenhaus, Olivia Streisand DISTRIBUTOR Netflix This urgent political thriller about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh opened the 2025 Venice International Film Festival before moving on to Telluride, Toronto, New York and London. With freedom of the press in jeopardy and self-censorship by major media prevalent, the doc, co-directed by Oscar-winner Poitras (“Citizenfour”), serves as a critical reminder of the importance of hard-hitting investigative reporting in a democracy. Coexistence, My Ass! DIRECTOR Amber Fares PRODUCERS Rachel Leah-Jones, Fares DISTRIBUTOR Selfd-distributed Disillusioned with politics, Noam Shuster Eliassi pivots to stand-up comedy to share her “radical” message that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal human rights. The film, described by Variety’s Tomris Laffly after its Sundance premiere as an “urgent, eye-opening and enormously compassionate documentary,” won the Golden Alexander in the international competition section of the 27th Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival in March. Cutting Through Rocks DIRECTORS Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni PRODUCERS Khaki, Eyni DISTRIBUTOR Self-distributed Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition sec tion at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, the doc follows Sara Shahverdi, the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, as she challenges entrenched patriarchal norms by combating child marriage, and training teenage girls to gain independence by learning to ride motorcycles. The directors spent over eight years tracking Shahverdi’s efforts to subvert economic systems and transform local attitudes. In October, the doc garnered the top documentary prize at the 2025 Woodstock Film Festival. Holding Liat DIRECTOR Brandon Kramer PRODUCERS Darren Aronofsky, Lance Kramer, Yoni Brook, Ari Handel, Justin A. Gonçalves DISTRIBUTOR Self-distributed via the Film Collaborative Winner of the 2025 Berlinale Documentary Award, the feature follows an Israeli family fighting for the return of loved ones following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The nuanced film gives a voice to critics of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while remaining sympathetic to the victims of a massacre. The Berlinale jury said the film “creates a space where the complexity of violence and justice and the contractions of history are not silenced, but brought forward.” Orwell: 2+2=5 DIRECTOR Raoul Peck PRODUCER Alex Gibney, Peck, George Chignell, Nick Shumaker DISTRIBUTOR Neon This chilling cinematic essay on power, propaganda and “1984” author George Orwell’s prophetic warnings could not be more timely. Peck, who was nominated for an Oscar for his 2016 doc “I Am Not Your Negro,” interweaves archival footage from adaptations of “1984” with 21st century images, while dissecting Orwell’s genius and his vital lessons for our future. The film debuted ear- lier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. The Perfect Neighbor DIRECTOR Geeta Gandbhir PRODUCER Alisa Payne, Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee DISTRIBUTOR Netflix Composed almost entirely of police body-cam and dash-cam video, the doc, which won the Sundance 2025 U.S. Documentary Directing Award, delves into America’s complexities around race, policing and gun laws via the fatal shooting of Ajike Owens by her neighbor Susan Lorincz. A hit with critics and audiences alike at film festivals worldwide, the doc is a major player in the awards race. Riefenstahl DIRECTOR Andres Veiel PRODUCERS Enzo Maass, Sandra Maischberger DISTRIBUTOR Kino Lorber The debate about filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who was the favorite documentarian of the Nazi’s Third Reich, has been parsed in books, articles and television interviews, but Veiel uses never-before-seen documents from Riefenstahl’s estate, including private films, photos, recordings and letters, to indict the infamous filmmaker. While Ray Müller’s 1993 three-hour-long doc “The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl” was a comprehensive look at Hitler’s go-to propagandist, Veiel’s doc, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, is not just a film about the Nazi propagandist; it also serves as a warning for the future.
