Published Updated

Sort by

The Oscar Documentary Feature Submissions of Film Year 2021 I’ve Seen, Ranked [Shortlist Completed]

This is the official list, and we seem to have a lower number of films long-listed for the 94th Academy Awards [138 films, down from last year's 238 eligible titles].

This is my ongoing personal record, and ranking, of those I've seen.

As of the last update, I've seen all shortlisted titles.

My Other Documentary Features Lists: [ 2024 ] [ 2023 ] [ 2022 ] [ 2021 ] [ 2020 ]

Read notes
  • Summer Nights

    136

  • A New Dawn

    126

  • The Deadliest Disease in America

    109

  • So Late So Soon

    135

  • Captains of Za'atari

    105

  • The Last Forest

    39

  • אולסי

    99

  • Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts

    103

  • Nothing But the Sun

    128

  • Man in the Field: The Life and Art of Jim Denevan

    123

  • No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

    19

  • No Ordinary Man

    21

  • Truth to Power

    66

  • Dying to Divorce

    68

  • Missing in Brooks County

    57

  • The Phantom

    85

  • Seyran Ateş: Sex, Revolution and Islam

    134

  • The Neutral Ground

    27

  • Ferguson Rises

    44

  • Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth To Power

    101

  • Radiograph of a Family

    132

  • Cusp

    87

  • Love It Was Not

    122

  • The Repentants

    133

  • On Broadway

    12

  • Los Hermanos/The Brothers

    121

  • Try Harder!

    22

  • Storm Lake

    42

  • Far Eastern Golgotha

    111

  • The Jump

    117

  • Kill the Indian Save the Child

    118

  • The Last Shelter

    119

  • Little Girl

    120

  • Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

    13

  • Fathom

    51

  • The People vs. Agent Orange

    56

  • Two Gods

    65

  • Karen Dalton: In My Own Time

    55

  • Fire Music

    113

  • Five Years North

    114

  • Flee

    1

  • RUTH - Justice Ginsburg in her own Words

    46

  • Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters

    104

  • Hell or High Seas

    115

  • My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan

    36

  • Homeroom

    47

  • Sabaya

    49

  • Misha and the Wolves

    59

  • Introducing, Selma Blair

    62

  • Lily Topples The World

    67

  • 2020: The Dumpster Fire

    72

  • Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It

    81

  • Courage

    107

  • The Mustangs: America's Wild Horses

    125

  • My Name Is Pauli Murray

    45

  • A Crime on the Bayou

    88

  • The Meaning of Hitler

    10

  • The Velvet Queen

    26

  • Writing with Fire

    35

  • Moby Doc

    52

  • Ostrov - Lost Island

    129

  • Torn

    138

  • The Alpinist

    48

  • Magaluf Ghost Town

    75

  • The Most Beautiful Boy in the World

    83

  • Tigre Gente

    137

  • The First Wave

    5

  • Paper & Glue

    14

  • Ailey

    33

  • Final

    37

  • Becoming Cousteau

    41

  • The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess

    110

  • Julia

    3

  • The Lost Leonardo

    34

  • Playing with Sharks

    38

  • Citizen Ashe

    82

  • Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

    91

  • Wuhan Wuhan

    92

  • 45 Days: The Fight for a Nation

    96

  • Marx Can Wait

    20

  • The Capote Tapes

    25

  • Mayor Pete

    40

  • Sisters on Track

    80

  • The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52

    84

  • American 965

    98

  • Not Going Quietly

    127

  • Ascension

    17

  • Speer Goes to Hollywood

    43

  • Simple As Water

    60

  • Found

    86

  • In the Same Breath

    23

  • Iron Temple

    116

  • Rebel Hearts

    8

  • Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain

    95

  • Children of the Enemy

    106

  • Operation Varsity Blues: The College issions Scandal

    69

  • Beijing Spring

    102

  • Pray Away

    71

  • Like A Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres

    24

  • The Race to Save the World

    94