13th

Let’s be honest, 2016 was a garbage year, but 2017 and the years ahead don’t look all that bright either. The current state of American politics is part chaos, part circus, part something right out of a dystopian novel. Regardless of who you voted for last November, the truth is we’re about to enter a new era of American politics, one that’s already concerning for many, and especially terrifying for American minorities. But as film lovers and critics, we often look to the screen to help us through the struggles we’re faced with outside the movie theater. Beyond entertainment, art has the power to lend us strength, hope, and inspiration. It can educate us, give us a vessel for catharsis, and enable us to build empathy for those we identify with on screen, as well as those we may not. In many ways, art’s impact is vital now more than ever.

The road to the Oscars is long and winding. Though everyone’s wrapping up their coverage of 2016, formulating lists and bestowing awards, we’ve still got a little under three months until the Academy Awards telecast actually airs on February 26. But some categories do get off and running in advance of the official nominations announcement on January 24, with larger slates of films placed on a shortlist from which five selections are then culled. The race for the Best Documentary Feature prize officially began yesterday, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their fifteen picks for the cream of this year’s nonfiction crop.