“You Can See Everything” has generated plenty of awards buzz — but one prize it cannot win is the DGA Award for feature film. The movie is ineligible because it is a documentary.
The eligibility guidelines for the DGA’s top prize, directorial achievement in theatrical feature film, states that “re-releases, animated films, and documentaries are not eligible.” A representative for the DGA Awards confirmed Tuesday to Variety that Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s film that follows convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will only compete in the directorial achievement in documentary category.
The film’s distributor, A24, and “several awards strategists” were hoping to get around the strict classification because “You Can See Everything” is not a traditional documentary, per the outlet. The surprise inclusion of a certain actor and staged reenactments are among the film’s non-conventional elements that expose the tensions between performance, nonfiction and truth.
The DGA’s determination is a setback for the film, which seems to be set up for a strong awards-season run with its critical recognition and commercial success. The DGA Award for feature film has been one of the most reliable barometers for who will win the directing Oscar. More often than not, the film that wins the DGA’s top prize has also taken the Oscar for best picture.
“You Can See Everything” is in a unique position because of its potential — to campaign for both picture and documentary feature categories at the Oscars, which does not have rules prohibiting documentaries from being submitted for consideration in the picture and directing categories. Some awards prognosticators, including Times columnist Glenn Whipp, have even debated whether “You Can See Everything” might have a stronger chance in the picture category than documentary.
Those who closely follow the Oscars say documentary branch voters tend to shy away from popular films, as well as those that are unconventional or feature celebrities. But no documentary has ever been nominated for best picture, either.
A24 is reportedly looking to submit the film for Oscar consideration in the picture, supporting acting, documentary feature, editing, cinematography, score and directing categories.
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