In Nearly a Century of Oscars, No Documentary Has Been Nominated for Best Picture. Variety Says This Season Is Testing That.
The Academy expanded Best Picture from five to 10 after the snub of The Dark Knight in 2008, and Variety reports that the press release led with the possibility of a documentary getting recognized. In nearly a century of Oscars, none has been nominated for the top prize.
This season, that possibility is being tested by You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's nonfiction film about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Acclaim and box-office success are raising the prospect that a documentary could finally break one of the Academy's longest-standing barriers. Variety says a nomination would be historic, and would raise the uncomfortable question of why it took so long.
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The more revealing gatekeeper may be the Documentary Branch itself. Variety says some Best Picture omissions belong to the Academy at large, but others tie directly to the branch, which snubbed many films in its own category.
Maybe the branch is a side issue. The top category has still never nominated a documentary in nearly a century, even after the field expanded to 10.