Oscars 2012: ‘Undefeated’ wins for feature documentary
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“Undefeated” won the Oscar for documentary feature at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday.
The film by directors Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin follows an inner-city football team struggling to survive high school and their crime-ridden neighborhood in Memphis, Tenn. Lead by their volunteer coach, Bill Courtney, the Manassas Tigers must fight stereotypes and their own demons to win the game and the respect of their teammates.
Other Oscar contenders included “Hell and Back Again,” a film by Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner that follows one Marine as he attempts to re-enter civilian society; “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman; “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” the latest installment by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky in the series that follows the case of the West Memphis Three; and “Pina,” Wim Wenders’ and Gian-Piero Ringel’s 3-D dance opus.
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The rules for feature documentaries will soon undergo major revisions, including the specification that entries must be reviewed by the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times in order to be eligible for an Academy Award nomination. The rule is an attempt by the academy to diminish the large number of feature films submitted to the category each year.
The Academy Awards are taking place in Hollywood and are being televised live on ABC. They are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose membership was recently examined in depthby the Los Angeles Times.
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--Lily Mihalik