In Contention

Tag: China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Documentary Short

    Prudence Mabhena in Music by PrudenceMuch like the live action and animated short fields, in order for voters to cast their ballots for the documentary short category, they have to attend screenings of all the nominees. This tends to make these categories a bit tougher to predict, because they are frequently immune to noise in the media. You screen, you vote.

    However, if you’re aware of what the committee likes, you can eventually find the pulse. In all these fields, these committees tend to appreciate doing a lot within the time frame constrictions of a short film, which is why animated shorts that resonate, live action shorts with high production value and documentary shorts that succinctly tackle a subject always come out on top.

    The nominees are:

    “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neil)
    “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardener” (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
    “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
    “Music by Prudence” (Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett)
    “Rabbit à la Berlin” (Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra)

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  • ‘China’s Unnatural Disaster’ the real David of the Oscar race?

    This press release just landed in the inbox, so I thought I’d pass it along free of commentary:

    DAVID AND GOLIATH AT THE 2010 OSCAR AWARDS
    “China’s Unnatural Disaster” faces governmental opposition

    New York, NY- China’s Unnatural Disaster: the Tears of Sichuan Province, the latest documentary by Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill, has been facing fierce opposition by the Chinese government as it makes its run for the Oscars this year. Since production began in 2008, China has fought the film at every opportunity and shows no signs of slowing as the Academy Awards draw near.

    China’s Unnatural Disaster is an investigation into the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that destroyed many poorly-constructed schools, killing an estimated 10,000 children. The film follows the bereaved parents as they seek answers from the government and are ignored and intimidated. The Chinese Government implemented a well-coordinated campaign to censor and suppress any inquiry into the tragedy. In addition to jailing and threatening local filmmakers and journalists, the government attempted to stop Alpert and O’Neill.

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  • 2/4 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper in All About Steve• China censors Oscar nominations announcement due to documentary short nominee. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Dave Karger and Missy Schwartz run the numbers on the Best Picture and Best Actress categories. [Oscar Watch]

    • Jeffrey Wells ponders the possibility of the home video release of “All About Steve,” starring Razzie-nominated actress Sandra Bullock, hurting her Oscar chances. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    (more…)