Over the last several years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has undergone many changes to its membership, but the impact of those changes goes well beyond “Parasite” winning Best Picture (which happened for a lot of other reasons). Various branches of the Academy have different demographics that can skew various categories. One key example that has received little scrutiny is the documentary branch, which is now 25 percent international. Now, as many of the key documentaries in this year’s Oscar race hail from other countries — from “Collective” (above) to “The Mole Agent” — that evolution is more visible than ever. In this week’s episode of Screen Talk, Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson discuss that shift and how it stands in contrast to the movies nominated in the “documentary writing” category by the WGA. They also go through additional WGA nominees to explain why certain major films were ineligible, while others that made the cut may be stronger contenders than we initially thought.
Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.
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