145 documentary feature films have been submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 89th Academy Awards, and according to our calculations, 44 of them are directed or co-directed by women. That number amounts to about 30 percent, which may seen small, but compared to the directing conversations in the narrative feature sections, which sadly have excluded women, this is much better.
Many notable films have been entered into the running this year, including Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” and “Weiner,” co-directed by Elyse Steinberg.
To qualify to be eligible in the category, the official AMPAS rules say that a doc must “complete both a seven-day theatrical release in Los Angeles County and a seven-day theatrical release in the City of New York during the eligibility period (January 1-December 31, 2016).” The release must happen within two years of the film’s completion, and the film has certain projection requirements to meet.
Documentary film has famously treated women better than the narrative world; many more women direct docs than feature films. According to a 2014 study called “Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers,” women direct 34.5 percent of documentaries versus just 16.9 percent of narrative films.
As TheWrap reported in 2012, “Women made up 39 percent of directors behind the documentaries screening at high-profile film festivals like Sundance and Tribeca in the United States between 2011 to 2012,” according to a study released by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.
“Traditionally, documentaries have been more welcoming of women and diversity in general because the barriers to entry are lower than they are in narrative features,” said Dr. Martha Lauzen, the Center’s executive director and the author of the study.
A short list of 15 films will be announced on December 15. The female-directed films submitted for the category, and which may also be eligible for other categories, are listed below. List adapted from AMPAS.
“Abortion: Stories Women Tell”- Directed by Tracy Droz Tragos
“Among the Believers”- Co-Directed by Hemal Trivedi
“Audrie & Daisy”- Co-Directed by Bonni Cohen
“Be Here Now (The Andy Whitfield Story)”- Directed by Lilibet Foster
“A Beautiful Planet”- Directed by Toni Myers
“Beauty Bites Beast”- Directed by Ellen Shortland
“Behind the Cove — The Quiet Japanese Speak Out!” -Directed by Keiko Yagi
“Black Women in Medicine”- Directed by Crystal Emory
“Blood on the Mountain” Co-Directed by Mari-Lynn C. Evans
“The Brainwashing of My Dad”-Directed by Jen Senko
“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”- Co-Directed by Alexis Bloom
“By Sidney Lumet”- Directed by Nancy Buirski
“The C Word”- Directed by Meghan O’Hara
“Cameraperson”- Directed by Kirsten Johnson
“City of Gold”- Directed by Laura Gabbert
“Don’t Blink — Robert Frank”- Directed by Laura Israel
“Equal Means Equal”- Directed by Kamala Lopez
“Eva Hesse”- Directed by Marcie Begleiter
“Generation Startup”- Directed by Cheryl Miller Houser, Cynthia Wade
“Hate Rising with Jorge Ramos”- Directed by Catherine Tambini
“Hooligan Sparrow”- Directed by Nanfu Wang
“Indian Point”- Directed by Ivy Meeropol
“Look at Us Now, Mother!”- Directed by Gayle Kirschenbaum
“Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing”- Directed by Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg
“Mavis!”- Directed by Jessica Edwards
“Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise”- Co-Directed by Rita Coburn Whack
“Miss Sharon Jones!”- Directed by Barbara Kopple
“National Bird”- Directed by Sonia Kennebeck
“Newtown”- Directed by Kim A. Snyder
“Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”- Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
“Nuts!”- Directed by Penny Lane
“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice”- Directed by Deborah Riley Draper
“The Red Pill”- Directed by Cassie Jaye
“Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”- Directed by Deborah S. Esquenazi
“The Syndrome”- Directed by Meryl Goldsmith
“They Will Have to Kill Us First — Malian Music in Exile”- Directed by Johanna Schwartz
“Trapped” — Directed by Dawn Porter
“13th”- Directed by Ava DuVernay
“USS Indianapolis The Legacy”- Directed by Sara Vladic
“The Uncondemned”- Co-Directed by Michele Mitchell
“Under the Gun”- Directed by Stephanie Soechtig
“Unlocking the Cage”- Co-Directed by Chris Hegedus
“Weiner”- Co-Directed by Elyse Steinberg
“When Two Worlds Collide”- Co-Directed by Heidi Brandenberg
