War Films Top Oscars Documentary Race

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War Films Top Oscars Documentary Race
Agence France-Presse | November 20, 2007


Films spotlighting the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as World War II are among 15 entries jostling for next year's coveted best Oscar documentary, it was announced Monday.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences revealed an initial shortlist of films which will be whittled down to five nominees in January before the Oscars are handed out at the 80th Academy Awards on February 24.

While the 15 films took in a broad range of subjects -- from political hot-button issues such as abortion and gays in the church -- war and its effects emerged as the dominant theme of the shortlist.

No fewer than eight of the films deal with issues related to conflicts past and present, with documentaries about the US-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan particularly prevalent.

Among them are Charles Ferguson's "No End in Sight", which critiques the planning before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Other films include "Body of War", which looks at the struggle of a wounded US soldier who is left paralyzed after being shot in Iraq, and "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience", which gives a voice to veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,156659,00.html