From ‘Hoop Dreams’ to ‘Flee’: The 20 Documentaries That Deserved a Best Picture Oscar Nomination

In nearly a century of Oscars, not a single documentary has been nominated for best picture. But that shouldn’t be the case. While a documentary can win its own Oscar, reshape the cultural conversation and become one of the defining films of its era, these nonfiction feature films have been excluded from the top category […] From "Hoop Dreams" to "Flee," Variety ranks 20 documentaries that deserved a best picture Oscar nomination as "You Can See Everything" eyes history. In nearly a century of Oscars, not a single documentary has been nominated for best picture. But that shouldn’t be the case. While a documentary can win its own Oscar, reshape the cultural conversation and become one of the defining films of its era, these nonfiction feature films have been excluded from the top category meant to honor the year’s best filmmaking.

When the Academy expanded the Best Picture lineup from five to 10 after the snub of “The Dark Knight” (2008), the press release led with the possibility of a documentary getting recognized. That has yet to happen … perhaps until now? That assumption is finally being tested this season with “You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s nonfiction sensation about Theranos