Academy Awards - Documentary (Feature)

2009
The Cove
[3]

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan is a highly guarded secret. During the night, Taiji fishermen engage in an unseen hunt for thousands of dolphins. The work is so horrifying, the fishermen will stop at nothing to keep it hidden from the outside world. When a team of elite activists, filmmakers, and free-divers embark on a secret mission to penetrate their cover, the shocking discoveries they find there are just the tip of the iceberg. Directed by Louie Psihoyos. PG-13

2008
Man on Wire
[4]

On August 7th, 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center's Twin Towers. After dancing for nearly an hour on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail, before finally being released. This extraordinary documentary incorporates Petit's personal footage to show how he overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges to achieve the artistic crime of the century. Directed by James Marsh. PG-13

2007
Taxi to the Dark Side
[5]

Investigates the torture and killing of an innocent Afghani taxi driver in a gripping probe into reckless abuses of government power. This stunningly crafted narrative demonstrates how one man's life and death symbolizes the erosion of our civil rights. Directed by Alex Gibney R

2006
An Inconvenient Truth [6]

A passionate and inspiring look at former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to expose the myths and misconceptions of global warming, and to create public awareness on the subject. Directed by Davis Guggenheim. Hosted by Al Gore. PG

2005
March of the Penguins [7]

In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship will begin with a long journey - a journey that will take them hundreds of miles across the continent by foot, one by one in a single file. They will endure freezing temperatures, in brittle, icy winds and through deep, treacherous waters. They will risk starvation and attack by dangerous predators, under the harshest conditions on earth, all to find true love. Directed by Laurent Chalet & Jérôme Maison. Narrated by Morgan Freeman. G

2004
Born into Brothels [8]

While living in the red light district of Calcutta, documenting life in the brothels, New York-based photographer Zana Briski embarked on a project by which she gave cameras to the children of prostitutes and taught them photography, awakening within them hidden talent and creativity and giving them a means to transform their lives. Directed by Ross Kauffman & Zana Briski. Featuring Zana Briski. R

2003
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara [9]

The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara. McNamara was one of the most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th century. Now, he offers a candid and intimate journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American history. He offers new and often surprising insights into the 1945 bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War. Directed by Errol Morris. PG-13

2002

Bowling For Columbine [10]

The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. Directed by Michael Moore. R

2001

Murder on a Sunday Morning [11] (Un coupable idéal)

When a 15-year-old black male is arrested for the murder of Mary Ann Stephens, everyone involved in the case from investigators to journalists is ready to condemn him, except for his public defence lawyer, Patrick McGuiness. A true tale of murder and injustice. Directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. NR

2000

Into The Arms of Strangers: Stories Of The Kindertransport [12]

The life-affirming tale of 10,000 children saved from Hitler's grasp and placed with foster parents and hostels in Great Britain at the outbreak of World War II. Includes archival footage and decades-later remembrances of both rescuers and the rescued. Directed by Mark Jonathan Harris. Based on the book Into The Arms Of Strangers: Stories Of The Kindertransport [13]by Mark Jonathan Harris & Deborah Oppenheimer. PG

1999

One Day In September [14]

This is the shocking and incredibly true story of the brutal massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by a team of extreme Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. From terrorist training in Libya to the terrorists sneaking into the Olympic Village to the tension-filled negotiations to the shocking conclusion at a German airport. Told with actual video shot during the crisis. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. R

1998

The Last Days

1997

The Long Way Home [15]

The story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel. Directed by Mark Jonathan Harris. NR

1996

When We Were Kings [16]

It's 1974, Muhammed Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Forman is ten years younger and the Heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set. Directed by Leon Gast.  PG

1995

Anne Frank Remembered [17]

Using previously unreleased archival material in addition to contemporary interviews, this documentary tells the story of the Frank family and presents the first fully-rounded portrait of their brash and free-spirited daughter Anne, perhaps the world's most famous victim of the Holocaust. Directed by Jon Blair. PG