One hundred seventy features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 90th Academy Awards®, including five Irish entries: Elián, The Farthest, No Stone Unturned, Rocky Ros Muc, and School Life.
Elián is the remarkable story of Elián Gonzalez, a five-year-old Cuban boy plucked from the Florida Straits, and how the fight for his future changed the course of U.S.-Cuba relations. Elián is co-directed by US journalist Tim Golden and Dublin filmmaker Ross McDonnell. Trevor Birney (Bobby Sands: 66 Days) produced the film through his Fine Point Films banner.
An entirely Irish production, Emer Reynolds' The Farthest includes interviews with 30 of the original scientists and engineers who built and flew the ground-breaking Voyager mission, never-seen-before archive footage from inside NASA along with spectacular CGI, designed and created by Irish talent.
On 18 June 1994 in the small village of Loughinisland, County Down, three gunmen burst into a pub with assault rifles and fired on the customers, killing six civilians and wounding five. No one has ever spent a day in prison for this, one of the more awful crimes of the Irish “Troubles.” In No Stone Unturned, writer/director Alex Gibney ignites a fire under this cold case that has frustrated the victims’ families for more than 20 years.
Rocky Ros Muc charts boxer Sean Mannion's rise from humble beginnings to challenging for a world title crown. From the quiet Gaeltacht village of Ros Muc, Galway, to the criminal underworld of James "Whitey" Bulger and the mean streets of Boston, Rocky Ros Muc examines spirit inside the ring and troubles outside; the reality of emigration and its impact on identity.
School Life tells the story of Headfort, the last remaining boarding school for primary age children in Ireland. Drected by Neasa Ní Chianáin with co-direction for David Rane.
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The 90th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018.
4 CinÉireann / November 2017
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