Is “Senna” eligible for the best doc feature Oscar?

October 12, 2011 by Adam Benzine

SENNA

In recent weeks, there has been some debate as to whether or not Asif Kapadia’s record-breaking doc Senna is actually eligible for the best documentary feature Oscar next year, considering that it consists entirely of archive footage. Well, realscreen has done some digging and found out the answer…

In short: yes, it is.

The film, which looks at the life of late F1 racing driver Ayrton Senna da Silva, has broken box office records on both sides of the Atlantic since going theatrical in June, and has already been pegged by some as a frontrunner for the Academy Award next year.

But the fact that the film consists solely of archival footage has led to some questions about its eligibility, citing past precedents set by the Academy as a cause for concern.

Kapadia himself has reportedly been quick to the charge to defend his film’s chances, insisting that the new interviews he recorded for the film – which play as audio narration over the archival video – mean that, in effect, he has created new footage.

Yet it seems he doth protest too much.

According to filmmaker James Moll, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Documentary Branch Executive Committee (and a former best doc feature Oscar-winner himself, for 1998 effort The Last Days) there is no reason why an entirely archive-based documentary would not qualify anyway.

“There is no Academy rule that would disqualify a documentary simply because it is constructed entirely from archival footage,” Moll told realscreen.

The confusion seems to have stemmed in part from the belief that Werner Herzog’s 2005 classic Grizzly Man – which famously did not even make the 15-long doc feature Oscar shortlist, let alone the last five nominees – was snubbed because it was made entirely from archival, or ‘found footage’ (see here, here or here for example).

Yet Moll says this is an urban legend. “These articles are not correct,” he explains. “Grizzly Man was eligible, and was submitted for the 2005 qualifying year and was considered by Academy voters along with all other films submitted that year.”

So there you have it: case closed. Kapadia can now enter with a clear track ahead of him (ahem).

As for who will win the big prize, well, that’s another question. While still early in the awards season, for my money the race will be between Senna and Steve James’s epic Chicago-set doc The Interrupters. That said, there is still plenty of time for another film to sneak in and wow us all.

One mystery does remain – if Grizzly Man wasn’t snubbed for an Oscar on technical grounds, how on Earth did the Academy manage to overlook it, given its appearance on more than 150 critics’ top 10 lists in its year of release? Answers on postcard please.

Tags: Academy Award, Asif Kapadia, Grizzly Man, James Moll, Oscars, Senna, the Academy's Documentary Branch Executive Committee, The Interrupters, Werner Herzog

Garyicohen

This article doesn’t make sense. Grizzly Man had original footage, so how is that a precedent.
Anonymous

Hi Gary, thanks for your comment.
Part of the anger and outrage over Grizzly Man’s Oscar snub has historically stemmed from precisely your point: The argument that it was deemed ineligible because it had no new footage
didn’t even make any sense – as the links in the story attest. A quick Google search reveals many irate Herzog fans.
Grizzly Man wasn’t even an entirely archive doc – it had new footage, such as the well-noted scene in which Herzog listens to the infamous audio tape. So how can it be considered ‘all archive’?
However, as my article states, this popular belief that GM was snubbed because of this arcane ‘archive rule’ is in fact an urban legend. GM was snubbed simply because not enough academy members voted for it.
Cheers,
Adam
brian fantana

agree with gary, who is the writer shilling for? – “breaking box office records both sides of the atlantic?” – really? what how and where on this side of the pond – it has made $1.4m – fine for a doc but not even close to Herzog’s CAVE ($5.2m) or even BUCK ($4+m) or several other docs so what records has it broken?
Anonymous

Hi there Brian, no shilling going on here:
In the States, Senna scored “the best debut of a documentary so far this year,”
according to indiewire (http://tinyurl.com/3zw4yhc), when it broke
the record for best 2011 U.S. opening weekend box office haul for a documentary; and in the UK
the doc has “broken the record for the highest grossing opening weekend
for a documentary in British history” (http://tinyurl.com/3dm3jha) according to
Charlotte Cook, the now director of programming at Hot Docs, and several other news
sources.

Best wishes,
Adam
Elizabeth

I watched Senna on TAP Air last week in English. Would that disqualify it?
Anonymous

Hi Elizabeth,
My understanding is that the film has already had its qualifying theatrical run in NYC and LA, so I believe it is free to air on TV stations and airplanes now without affecting its eligibility.
Best, Adam
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Factual Entertainment Forum 2011 - Bunim/Murray Productions chairman/co-creator of “The Real World” Jon Murray accepts his Hall of Fame award during Realscreen’s Factual Entertainment Awards in Santa Monica, June 2011.

Is “Senna” eligible for the best doc feature Oscar?

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