Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

An eligible documentary film is defined as a theatrically released nonfiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects. It may be photographed in actual occurrence, or may employ partial reenactment, stock footage, stills, animation, stop-motion or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact and not on fiction.

The Documentary awards are divided into two categories:

1. Documentary Feature - motion pictures with a running time of more than 40 minutes, and
2. Documentary Short Subject - motion pictures with a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits.

1. Eligibility
   1. To be eligible for 82nd Academy Awards consideration, a documentary feature must complete both a seven-day commercial run in a theater in Los Angeles County, and a seven-day commercial run in a theater in the Borough of Manhattan during the eligibility period.
   2. The eligibility period begins on September 1, 2008, and ends on August 31, 2009. An extension of the eligibility period to September 30, 2009, may be granted only if the film has legal contracts with exhibitors guaranteeing that it will complete both qualifying commercial runs before the extension deadline. All paperwork (including legal contracts if applicable) must be completed and received by the Academy no later than 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
   3. Both commercial runs must take place in the same eligibility period and within two years of the motion picture’s completion date. A run in only one of the qualifying cities disqualifies a picture from Academy Awards contention in the Documentary Feature category in any year. Documentaries submitted for consideration for the 82nd Academy Awards in any category will not be eligible for consideration in subsequent Awards years in any category. The picture must be submitted in the same Awards year in which it first qualifies.
   4. The picture must be projected using 16mm, 35mm or 70mm film, or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels; source image format conforming to SMPTE 428-1-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Image Characteristics; image compression (if used) conforming to ISO/IEC 15444-1 (JPEG 2000), and image and sound file formats suitable for exhibition in commercial Digital Cinema sites. The audio in a typical Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is 5.1 channels of discrete audio, and that is the preferred audio configuration. The minimum for a non-mono configuration of the audio shall be three channels as Left, Center, Right (a Left/Right configuration is not acceptable in a theatrical environment). The audio data shall be formatted in conformance with SMPTE 428-2-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio Characteristics and SMPTE 428-3-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio Channel Mapping and Channel Labeling.
   5. Screenings during each of the qualifying runs must occur at least twice daily and must begin between noon and 10 p.m. The motion picture must be exhibited for paid admission, and titles and screening times must be advertised during each of its runs in major newspapers (see entry form instructions).
   6. Works that are essentially promotional or instructional are not eligible, nor are works that are essentially unfiltered records of performances.
   7. Only individual documentary works are eligible. This excludes from consideration:
      • episodes extracted from a larger series,
      • segments taken from a single “composite” program, and
      • alternate versions of ineligible works.
   8. The significant dialogue or narration must be in English, or the entry must have English-language subtitles.
   9. No type of television or Internet transmission of a contending documentary feature may occur anywhere in the world until 60 days after the completion of the New York and Los Angeles County seven-day qualifying runs. However, ten minutes or ten percent of the running time of a film, whichever is shorter, is allowed to be shown in a nontheatrical medium prior to the film’s theatrical release. DVD release may be simultaneous with the first day of the U.S. qualifying run.
2. Submission
   1. A Theatrical Screening Information Form informing the Academy of the details of each of the qualifying runs must be filed with the Awards office before the runs begin.
   2. Entrants (including non-U.S. entrants) must have submitted to the Academy a fully completed Official Entry Form, the Documentary Disclosure Form, 30 Region 1/NTSC DVDs of the entry, and all other required materials by 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
3. Voting
   1. Documentaries will be viewed by members of the Documentary Branch, which will use an averaged score system to produce a shortlist of 12 to 15 films. Five nominees will then be chosen by a second round of balloting, using a preferential voting system.
   2. Final voting shall be restricted to active and life members of the Academy who have viewed all of the nominated documentaries in a theatrical setting. Viewing nominated works on “screeners” will not qualify a member for a ballot in the category, with the exception of those Documentary Branch members who have participated in the nominations selection process.
4. Copies Required
   1. In addition to the 30 DVDs required for the first round of balloting, filmmakers whose entries are voted onto the shortlist must submit another 35 Region 1/NTSC DVDs, without trailers or other extraneous material, by 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, December 1, 2009.
   2. The creators of the shortlisted documentaries must submit either two 35mm or 70mm film prints or two digital versions of the documentary in a qualifying format by 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Following the nominations screenings, one copy of the work shall become the property of the Academy Film Archive.
5. Nominees and Award Recipients
   1. The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria.
   2. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
6. Advertising and Publicity Restrictions

   Only documentaries that receive nominations or Academy Awards may refer to their Academy endorsements in advertising and publicity materials. A film that is selected for the shortlist may not identify itself as an “Academy Award shortlist film” except when it appears in a program consisting entirely of such films.

7. Other Rules
   1. Documentaries submitted in this category may also qualify for awards in other categories if they meet the specified requirements.
   2. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee shall resolve all questions of eligibility or rules.

1. Eligibility
   1. To be eligible for Awards consideration for 2009, a documentary short subject must complete a seven-day commercial run in a theater in either Los Angeles County or in the Borough of Manhattan, between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009.
   2. The qualifying run must take place within two years of the motion picture’s completion date. The picture must be submitted in the same Awards year in which it first qualifies. Documentaries submitted for any 82nd Awards categories will not be eligible for consideration in any awards categories in subsequent Awards years.
   3. The picture must be projected using 16mm, 35mm or 70mm film, or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels; source image format conforming to SMPTE 428-1-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Image Characteristics; image compression (if used) conforming to ISO/IEC 15444-1 (JPEG 2000), and image and sound file formats suitable for exhibition in commercial Digital Cinema sites. The audio in a typical Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is 5.1 channels of discrete audio, and that is the preferred audio configuration. The minimum for a non-mono configuration of the audio shall be three channels as Left, Center, Right (a Left/Right configuration is not acceptable in a theatrical environment). The audio data shall be formatted in conformance with SMPTE 428-2-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio Characteristics and SMPTE 428-3-2006 D-Cinema Distribution Master – Audio Channel Mapping and Channel Labeling.
   4. Screenings in the qualifying run must occur at least once daily and begin between noon and 10 p.m. The motion picture must be exhibited for paid admission, and titles and screening times must be listed for each day of its run in major newspapers (see submission packet).
   5. Works that are essentially promotional or instructional are not eligible, nor are works that are essentially unfiltered records of performances.
   6. Only individual documentary works are eligible. This excludes from consideration:
      • episodes extracted from a larger series,
      • segments taken from a single “composite” program,
      • alternate versions of ineligible works, and
      • documentary short subjects created from materials substantially taken from or cut down from completed, publicly exhibited feature-length documentaries.
   7. The significant dialogue or narration must be in English, or the entry must have English-language subtitles.
   8. No type of television or Internet transmission of a contending documentary may occur anywhere in the world until 60 days after the first day of its qualifying run. However, up to ten percent of the running time of a film is allowed to be shown in a nontheatrical medium prior to the film’s theatrical release. DVD release may be simultaneous with the first day of the U.S. qualifying run.
2. Submission
   1. A Theatrical Screening Information Form informing the Academy of the details of the qualifying run must be filed with the Awards office before the run begins.
   2. Entrants (including non-U.S. entrants) must have submitted to the Academy a fully completed Official Entry Form, the Documentary Disclosure Form, 30 Region 1/NTSC DVDs of the entry, and all other required materials by 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
3. Voting
   1. Documentaries will be viewed by Documentary Branch members, who will use an averaged score system to produce an eight-picture shortlist. Three to five nominees will then be chosen by a second round of balloting, using the averaged score system.
   2. Final voting shall be restricted to active and life Academy members who have viewed all of the nominated documentaries in a theatrical setting. Viewing nominated works on “screeners” will not qualify a member for a ballot in the category, with the exception of those Documentary Branch members who have participated in the nominations selection process.
4. Copies Required
   1. In addition to the 30 DVDs required for the first round of balloting, filmmakers whose entries are voted onto the shortlist must submit another 35 Region 1/NTSC DVDs, without trailers or other extraneous material, by 5 p.m. PT on Monday, October 19, 2009.
   2. The creators of the shortlisted documentaries must submit either two 35mm or 70mm film prints or two digital versions of the documentary in a qualifying format, by 5 p.m. PT on Monday, October 19, 2009. Following the nominations screenings, one copy of the work shall become the property of the Academy Film Archive.
5. Nominees and Award Recipients
   1. The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria.
   2. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
6. Advertising and Publicity Restrictions

   Only documentaries that receive nominations or Academy Awards may refer to their Academy endorsements in advertising and publicity materials. A film that is selected for the shortlist may not identify itself as an “Academy Award shortlist film” except when it appears in a program consisting entirely of such films.

7. Other Rules

   The Documentary Branch Executive Committee shall resolve all questions of eligibility or rules.