January 5, 2000

>> Academy Narrows Potential Doc Nominees to 12

Twelve documentary films are under consideration for the five Best Documentary Feature Academy Award nominations which will be announced next month. The dozen films, chosen by a new committee of Academy-member documentarians, were named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday.

Vying for an Oscar nod in the doc category are Todd Robinson's "Amargosa," Chris Smith's "American Movie," Barry Blaustein's "Beyond the Mat," Wim Wenders' "Buena Vista Social Club," Roko Belic's "Genghis Blues," Errol Morris' "Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.," Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen's "On the Ropes," Kevin Macdonald's "One Day in September," Chris Roe's "Pop & Me," Torrie Rosenzweig's "Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial," Chuck Workman's "The Source," and Paolo di Florio's "Speaking in Strings."

In October, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Documentary Executive Committee, under chaired by Arnold Schwartzman, adopted a new procedure for selecting Academy Award nominees in the feature length documentary category. 55 docs were considered by the group. The committee members are chair Schwartzman, vice-chair Mark Harris, Michael Apted, Arthur Dong, Charles Guggenheim, Taylor Hackford, Barbara Kopple, Alec Lorimore, Freida Lee Mock, James Moll, Erroll Morris and Victoria Mudd.

The twelve docs will now be screened in Beverly Hills, New York and San Francisco, where local Academy members can see the movies and vote for the 1999 nominees. The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 15, at 5:30 a.m. PT.

[For more information, visit the AMPAS site at www.ampas.org.]

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