Best Documentary Feature:

Politics or activism is at the forefront of three films nominated for the Best Documentary Feature. The Russo-Ukrainian War is part of current affairs, and the film A House Made of Splinters focuses on an orphanage within the country and the effects of the war there. There is also Navalny, which focuses on Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny and the events related to his poisoning.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed looks at the activism responsible for the downfall of the Sackler family, who were pharmaceutical proponents of the opioid epidemic. The final two documentaries are not political with National Geographic’s Fire of Love, which focuses on the lives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft and the cultural story of two brothers in All that Breathes.

Prediction: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Best Documentary Short Subject:

Animal lovers will find much to admire in two of this year’s nominees for Best Documentary Short Subject. The Elephant Whisperers follows an indigenous couple in South India who raise an orphaned baby elephant while Haulout depicts the work of a marine biologist, Maxim Chakilev, through a three month shoot that saw firsthand the harsh impact of climate change on the walrus population. Both films portray the locale of their shoot with great beauty and reverence. 

Those who enjoy American history will be captivated by The Martha Mitchell Effect, a film about the Watergate whistleblower who was a cabinet member’s wife that the Nixon administration tried to keep silent. A story more recent to American history is Stranger at the Gate, a film that centers on Richard McKinney, a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who developed Islamophobia. Once home, he plans an attack on a local mosque, but is dissuaded when he spends time with the community and his prejudices fade away. Like in prior years, we can expect at least one of the films in this category to focus on the healing power of empathy. Rounding out this category is How Do You Measure a Year?, a film that will appeal to parents. Directed by Jay Rosenblatt, the film shows the changing relationship between him and his daughter over the years as he films her on her birthday each year and interviews her with the same questions.

Prediction: Haulout

Best Best Live Action Short Film:

The Best Live Action Short Film category typically offers plenty in terms of the variety of nominated films. Family is at the center of Tom Berkeley and Ross White’s An Irish Goodbye when two brothers reunite following the death of their mother. They find an unfinished bucket list from their mother and seek to honor her through completing her list. The items on the list start innocuous, but soon spiral into comedy in this heartfelt story about two brothers brought together again. Relating to separated family is Anders Walter and Pipaluk K. Jørgensen’s Ivalu, a Greenland-set story about a sister, Ivalu, who has gone missing. Ivalu’s sister seeks to find Ivalu, whereas their father is indifferent. The short film is based on the Danish graphic novel and showcases beautiful landscapes and scenery.

Set during the night (no surprise) is Eirik Tveiten’s Night Ride, a film that takes place in the cold of winter. Ebba is taking the tram to go home following a party, but she finds herself conducting the tram in an unlikely sequence of events. She soon finds herself over her head as the film takes a darker turn away from comedy. Also in strange places is Cyrus Neshvad’s The Red Suitcase, depicting a 16-year-old Iranian girl who arrives at the Luxembourg Airport but is fearful of what might come in her new life.

The most high-profile, and favorite, of this year’s nominees is Alice Rohrwacher’s Le Pupille. The film is set in Mussolini-era Italy at a girls-only Catholic boarding school and follows a group of rebellious youth during advent season. This short film premiered at Cannes and was released on Disney+ and to many critics represented a maturation of themes explored in Rohrwacher’s earlier films.

Prediction: Le Pupille