The prize categories of the Documentary Academy have an unusual history that dates back to the first days of the participation of the United States in World War II, and many of the shorts of non -fiction and feature films that compete for the recognition at that time they reflected The concern of the nation with combat. The first documentary Oscar was granted in 1942 to a short Canadian called “Churchill's Island”, with special awards awarded to two characteristics. The following year, the characteristics of DOC and shorts were combined and created to a large extent by several government organizations. By 1946, such as Hollywood and the rest of the country emerged from World War II, there were simply not enough qualification documentaries to execute the category.
Things have changed a lot since then, with documentaries that grow in popularity and address a wide range of issues. Twenty years ago, both Doc winners focused on the lives of children in difficult and desperate situations.
Indian passages
The filmmakers Ross Kauffman and Carrier Brinski exploded great with their characteristic of winning doctor “born in Brothels: Calcuta's Red Light Kids”, on the children of sex workers in the Red Luz district of the Indian city. The tradition of the dual winners in the category continued; Before his victory, the last winner of the solo function was Jon Blair to “Anne Frank remembered” from 1995.
As was the style for many categories in the Oscars of 2005, all the nominees were together on stage, since their names were read aloud, in this case by Leonardo DiCaprio. “They left the stage behind a large wall, and when I finally removed my nominees, and I stayed there as deer in the headlights,” Kauffman recalls.
During his speech, he held the prize and pointed out: “Tom Hanks was right; This thing is heavy. “Briski, which as Kauffman was a candidate for the first time, added:” A little gold man, just what we always wanted. “
“Walking through Los Angeles with an Oscar in his hand was surreal and incredibly fun,” says Kauffman today. “As my first film as director, I did not completely understand the weight of that moment, but every year I appreciate it more.”
Most of the other nominees had received their first (and unique) nomination. “The history of the country camel”, about a nomadic Mongol family that struggles to get a baby camel to prosper, Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni wine. Morgan Spurlock's “super He died in 2024 by cancer. The filmmakers Lauren Lazin and Karolyn Ali tracked the life of the late Tupac Shakur rapper in “Tupac: Resurrection”. And Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt's filmmakers were nominated for “Twist of Faith”, about a man who faces sexual abuse by a Catholic priest. Kirby would become nominated again in the category for “The Invisible War” of 2012 with Amy Ziering.
March to freedom
The role of children was also essential to tell the story of Documentary Short Winner, “Mighty Times: The Children's March”, about the youth protest against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, in the early 1960s. The prize went to Robert Houston and Robert Hudson, filmmakers previously nominated for a brief about Rosa Parks two years before.
They accepted the award while on stage with their nominees of the presenter Natalie Portman. “I don't know about many of you, but I've been sitting in a bathtub since I was 8 years old by practicing this Oscar speech,” said Hudson.
They faced “autism is a world” by Gerardine Wurzburg about the inner world of an autistic woman; Wurzburg had previously won a trophy for a 1992 short (with Thomas C. Goodwin). Beginners Hanna Pok and Andrzej Celinski were nominated for “Leninggrasky's children,” about social problems in postsoviet Russia. Hubert Davis and Erin Faith Young, also rookies, were used by “hard wood”, about Davis's relationship with his Harlem father Globetrotter. Also nominated: Oren Jacoby and Steve Kalafer for “Passion of Sister Rose”, on a nun that explores anti -Semitism in the Catholic Church. It was the first Jacoby nomination, but Kalafer already had two to his credit: once for a 1998 animated short, followed by recognition for a Doc Short a couple of years later.
