Every year, the Oscars bring together different groups of people who all like entertainment. Everyone is excited to see the envelopes open and see who won. The Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars has had many different nominees over the years. This has given the issues and topics of each era a chance to shine from a critical point of view. This part of the Academy Awards may be one of the most important because it tells the most interesting true stories. Here is a list of the best documentaries that have ever won an Oscar.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
An Inconvenient Truth really lives up to its name, and it helps Al Gore reach his goal of making everyone aware of the environment. Over the past few decades, the threat of global warming has become more serious, and this documentary tries to show how serious it is. Under the direction of Davis Guggenheim, the film that people watch is full of sobering facts and numbers, as well as images that help drive home the points. Gore’s work in the field is an important part of the history and culture of the 2000s. It makes people more careful about how they treat our planet.
Anne Frank Remembered (1995)
Anne Frank Remembered, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1996, adds to the real story of Anne Frank in a biographical way. Several people who knew her well, like Miep Gies and Mary Bos, talk about what happened to the Frank family and other Jews in hiding during the Holocaust. This gives the audience a heartbreaking and horrifying look at what happened. With narration by Kenneth Branagh and Glenn Close’s voice, the audience is taken into Frank’s diary pages, where they see her bright personality and learn about the tragedy she went through. Some people now think it’s okay to say that the Holocaust didn’t happen, so this movie is becoming more and more important.
Broken Rainbow (1985)
The story of Broken Rainbow is about Navajo people who had to leave Hopi land in the Southwestern U.S. Native Americans had to leave Arizona and New Mexico because of this shameful thing that happened during the Reagan administration. This took away their freedom and made thousands of voices go silent. Martin Sheen narrates the movie, and it also talks about other problems that Native communities have to deal with. As an American movie, it seems very self-aware and is a good step toward making up for the wrongs done to these groups in the name of “necessity” in business and the government.
Free Solo (2018)
After Man on Wire won an Oscar 10 years ago, Free Solo brought people back to the cliff of great documentaries and dangerous expeditions. This amazing story was made by National Geographic Documentary Films, which is clear just from how amazing it looks. Alex Honnold sets out on a journey to be the first person to climb El Capitan in Yosemite without a rope. In free solo climbing, a single climber doesn’t use ropes or belay systems to keep themselves safe. Even though this may seem impossible in front of one of the most famous sights in a National Park, this documentary won a number of awards for a reason.
I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School (1993)
I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School gave people a front-row view of a struggling school system and the hard lives of the kids it helped. This documentary follows the teachers and administrators of a low-income Philadelphia school and shows how the school’s students had to overcome problems in different parts of their lives. The setting is similar to that of Quinta Brunson’s book Abbott Elementary. Alan and Susan Raymond’s I Am a Promise won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1994. It also won a number of other awards that showed how important the film was.
Man on Wire (2008)
Philippe Petit becomes known as “Man on Wire” when he walks a tightrope between the Twin Towers in New York City in 1974. Even though the walk is clearly against the law, he does it anyway because he thinks his skill and story will be worth the risk. But as an experienced high-wire walker and artist, he has some tricks up his sleeve that he uses to make his show more interesting. This unbelievable movie uses the original source material from the 1970s and adds the fresh flavor of modern acting to show a new generation how brave Petit was.
March of the Penguins (2005)
March of the Penguins is one of the most memorable documentaries from the 2000s and one that is good for the whole family. In the English version of this piece, which was written in French, Morgan Freeman tells the story of an annual adventure that shows how dedicated penguin parents are, even when it’s freezing outside. Emperor penguins go to the places where they will have their next brood. Both mothers and fathers have to work hard to make sure the chicks survive. March of the Penguins is both hopeful and realistic, and it seems to be interesting to everyone. It has a similar feel to other popular nature documentaries that came out before and after it.
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
My Octopus Teacher, which came out on Netflix in recent years, is an interesting look at how close filmmaker Craig Foster got to an octopus. This unique story takes place in South Africa in an underwater kelp forest that looks like something from another world. The octopus is more than just a subject for a documentary. As Foster’s new friend, she teaches him about how wild animals like herself live. Time says, “Foster recorded every dive with a video camera, but he didn’t set out to make a movie.” Thanks to his curiosity, though, viewers can now also see how his observations have changed his life.
The Cove (2009)
The Cove is one of the most powerful animal documentaries out there right now. It is also one of the most memorable exposés that show how much selfish people mess with nature. Richard “Ric” O’Barry, a former dolphin trainer who changed his mind and became an activist, and Louie Psihoyos, the Executive Director of the Oceanic Preservation Society, work together to stop the cruel capture and killing of dolphins. This sad story takes place in Taiji, Japan, and any person who cares about animals should watch this movie. In an article for Vulture, Bilge Ebiri quotes O’Barry as saying, “Bringing this to the world’s attention is the only hope.” In 2010, the best documentary film was The Cove.
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