Best Documentary Feature:
Black Box Diaries | OUR PICK 🎯
Shiori Itō didn’t just shake the chabudai—she flipped the damn thing over. In a country where sexual violence survivors are expected to suffer in silence, she dragged Japan’s outdated, misogynistic systems into the spotlight with her 2017 memoir Black Box, calling out both her own assault and the systemic rot that protects abusers. And guess what? The old boys' club did not appreciate it. But instead of backing down, Itō doubled down, becoming a relentless advocate for justice and landing herself on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2020. Now, her documentary Black Box Diaries keeps that same energy, earning an Oscar nod while giving Japan’s legal system the side-eye it deserves. Meanwhile, her abuser? Still trying to slink back into the shadows. Too bad—it’s bright as hell out here.
Watch it on Hulu!
FELLOW NOMINEES:
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No Other Land
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Porcelain War
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Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
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Sugarcane
Best Documentary Short:
I Am Ready, Warden | OUR PICK 🎯
Smriti Mundhra mastered her filmmaking lineage – adding her own distinct lens to the craft. Born to Indian filmmaker Jag Mundhra and raised bouncing between LA and Mumbai, she took that dual identity and turned it into a powerhouse storytelling career. And she’s not swimming in the shallow end—her work digs deep, tackling identity, culture, and the systems that try (and fail) to contain them. She cracked open the pressure cooker of arranged marriages in A Suitable Girl, earned an Oscar nod for St. Louis Superman, and gave Netflix its most awkward auntie-fueled hit with Indian Matchmaking. Now, I Am Ready, Warden is putting her back in the Oscar race, because of course it is—Smriti Mundhra keeps finding the stories that refuse to be ignored.
Her latest, I Am Ready, Warden, takes on the gut-wrenching story of Rocky Myers, a Black man on death row in Alabama who was convicted on shaky evidence and given an execution sentence thanks to checks notes a judge literally overriding a jury’s recommendation for life in prison. It’s a documentary that doesn’t just lay out the facts—it stares the broken, racist American justice system dead in the eyes and dares it to blink.
Watch it on Prime Video!
FELLOW NOMINEES:
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Incident
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Instruments of a Beating Heart
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The Only Girl in the Orchestra
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Death by Numbers
OUCH! Snubbed!
The Oscars and snubs go together like Baldonis and basement watch-parties. And while some snubs are well-earned (looking at you, JB), every year a handful of the most deserving films get left in the dust while safer, shinier picks take their place. We’re not here to list every overlooked doc (we’d be here all day), but these are the ones that had us side-eyeing the Academy harder than an overlong acceptance speech.
"Elton John: Never Too Late"
Elton John: Never Too Late may be the title, but apparently, the Academy disagrees. Despite delivering a career-spanning deep dive and gifting the world a brand-new Elton track, this doc got left off the nominee list. No nod, no love—guess that’s why they call it the blues. Watch it on Disney+!
"Will & Harper"
Will & Harper hit the road, but the Academy clearly missed the ride. This doc follows Will Ferrell and his trans best friend, Harper Steele, on a cross-country journey of identity, friendship, and self-discovery—so naturally, it got love from critics and audiences alike. But apparently, Oscar voters needed more cowbell? Ferrell took it well, though—he responded to the snub by flipping off the Academy. Honestly? Fair. Watch on Netflix!
"Dahomey"
Dahomey delivered a powerful deep dive into the history and legacy of the Dahomey Kingdom, but when it came time for Oscar voters to recognize it? Nada. Despite critical acclaim and a compelling narrative about Africa’s stolen artifacts, this doc was refused a seat. In a time when museums, politicians, and Twitter historians are bending over backwards to make colonialism look like a “misunderstanding,” maybe if it had centered the looters instead of the looted, it would’ve had a shot?
