The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the list of what is said to be a record number of films that will contend for the 90th Academy Awards Documentary Feature Oscar. A total of One hundred seventy (170) feature documentaries have been submitted for consideration. Per the Academy, several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories. Of note, with respect to Shadow and Act's interests, are (in alphabetical order): [caption id="attachment_300096" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Okwui Okpokwasili in Andrew Rossi’s documentary BRONX GOTHIC, based on Okpokwasili’s performance of the same name. Courtesy of Grasshopper Film.

Okwui Okpokwasili in Andrew Rossi’s documentary BRONX GOTHIC, based on Okpokwasili’s performance of the same name. Courtesy of Grasshopper Film.

Bronx Gothic[/caption] -- Bronx Gothic: Director Andrew Rossi's film is based on Okwui Okpokwasili’s lauded performance piece of the same name, which follows the Bessie Award–winning actor, dancer, writer, performance artist and singer as she stages a final tour for her one-woman show, Bronx Gothic. Inspired by Okpokwasili’s early 1980s Bronx childhood, Rossi’s film asks the audience: “Can I make all of you be born again as a black girl?” [caption id="attachment_300097" align="aligncenter" width="980"]

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story[/caption] -- Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story: Sean “Diddy" Combs’ documentary celebrating the first 20 years of the Bad Boy Entertainment record label, the film is directed by Daniel Kaufman, providing a raw and exclusive look behind the scenes at the history and legacy of Bad Boy through a complex portrait of the label’s mastermind, Combs, aka Puff Daddy, as he tries to reunite his Bad Boy Family in the course of a frantic three-week rehearsal period. [caption id="attachment_294901" align="aligncenter" width="851"]

Chasing Trane[/caption] -- Chasing Trane: John Scheinfeld’s John Coltrane documentary is the definitive documentary film about the outside-the-box thinker with extraordinary talent whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world. A smart, passionate, thought-provoking and uplifting documentary for anyone who appreciates the power of music to entertain, inspire and transform. [caption id="attachment_300098" align="aligncenter" width="959"]

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson[/caption] -- The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson: One of at least 2 different films on the self-described “street queen” in circulation, director David France's film chronicles the life of the legendary drag queen, Stonewall veteran, and co-founder of the trans-rights movement, who was found dead in the Hudson River 25 years ago, and her best friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, who died a few years later, the victim of a broken heart. [caption id="attachment_289078" align="aligncenter" width="1894"]

For Ahkeem[/caption] -- For Ahkeem: From co-directors Jeremy Levine and Landon Van Soest, the documentary follows Daje Shelton, a 17-year-old black girl from north St. Louis, Missouri as she strives to graduate from the nation's only court-supervised public high school. Through Daje's intimate first-person account, For Ahkeem explores the complex web between juvenile justice, education and race in America today. [caption id="attachment_300099" align="aligncenter" width="810"]

I Called Him Morgan[/caption] -- I Called Him Morgan: A feature documentary directed by Kasper Collin which centers on the turbulent relationship between the great jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife, Helen Morgan that led to her shooting him dead in 1972. Lee Morgan was just 33 years old at the time. [caption id="attachment_293288" align="aligncenter" width="1440"] Kiki

Kiki[/caption] -- Kiki: Director Sara Jordenö's film is a strikingly intimate documentary that offers riveting, complex insight into a safe space created and governed by LGBTQ youth of color in New York City, who are claiming their own peace and political power. [caption id="attachment_300100" align="aligncenter" width="1198"] LA 92

LA 92[/caption] -- LA 92: National Geographic Documentary Films' riveting look back at the controversial Rodney King trial and subsequent protests, violence and looting of the city, viewed from a multitude of vantage points through visceral and rarely seen archival footage. [caption id="attachment_294843" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

The Skyjacker’s Tale[/caption] -- Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982 - 1992: John Ridley’s feature documentary takes a unique and in-depth look at the years and events leading up to the city-wide violence that began April 29, 1992, when the verdict was announced in the Rodney King case. [caption id="attachment_300101" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]

The Skyjacker’s Tale[/caption] -- The Skyjacker’s Tale: Filmmaker Jamie Kastner's feature-length documentary gives audiences unprecedented access to one of the USA's top five most wanted fugitives - Ishmael Muslim Ali (formerly LaBeet) - who lives in Cuba. Called The Fountain Valley massacre, Ali was one of 5 Afro-Caribbean men convicted of murdering 8 (white) people on a Rockefeller-owned golf course in the US Virgin Islands. After years of trying to get his conviction overturned, he took matters into his own hands and hijacked an American Airlines flight that was full of passengers, en route to Cuba, on New Years Eve in 1984; and he got away with it, living at large in Cuba. [caption id="attachment_300102" align="aligncenter" width="665"]

Strong Island[/caption] -- Strong Island: Yance Ford's powerful, poetic documentary chronicles the arc of a family across history, geography and tragedy. It is the story of the Ford family: Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children and how their lives were shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America. [caption id="attachment_300103" align="aligncenter" width="1333"]

Whitney. “Can I Be Me”[/caption] -- Whitney. “Can I Be Me”: The Showtime documentary is an intimate portrait of Whitney Houston, one of the most successful female recording artists of all time, who, after a troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown and many years of struggles with addiction, died suddenly and tragically at age 48. The film is directed by acclaimed BAFTA Award winner Nick Broomfield with Rudi Dolezal. [caption id="attachment_300104" align="aligncenter" width="998"]

Whose Streets?[/caption] -- Whose Streets?: Directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis, the film is a nonfiction account of the Ferguson, Missouri uprising told through the eyes and by the people who lived it. It's an unflinching look at how the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back - and sparked a global movement. [caption id="attachment_294319" align="aligncenter" width="950"]

The Work[/caption] -- The Work: Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, 3 men from the outside participate in a 4-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the 4 days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past. Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous directed the film. For the full list of 170 films that will be considered for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards next year, see the list below. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December. Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Aida’s Secrets Al Di Qua All the Rage All These Sleepless Nights AlphaGo The American Media and the Second Assassination of President John F. Kennedy And the Winner Isn’t Angels Within Architects of Denial Arthur Miller: Writer Atomic Homefront The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography Bang! The Bert Berns Story Bending the Arc Big Sonia Bill Nye: Science Guy Birthright: A War Story Bobbi Jene Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Born in China Born to Lead: The Sal Aunese Story Boston Brimstone & Glory Bronx Gothic Burden California Typewriter Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story Casting JonBenet Chasing Coral Chasing Trane Chavela Citizen Jane: Battle for the City City of Ghosts Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives Cries from Syria Cruel & Unusual Cuba and the Cameraman Dawson City: Frozen Time Dealt The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Destination Unknown Dina Dolores Dream Big: Engineering Our World A Dying King: The Shah of Iran Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) Earth: One Amazing Day 11/8/16 Elian Embargo Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Escapes Everybody Knows... Elizabeth Murray Ex Libris - The New York Public Library Extraordinary Ordinary People Faces Places The Farthest The Final Year Finding Oscar 500 Years Food Evolution For Ahkeem The Force The Freedom to Marry From the Ashes Gaga: Five Foot Two A German Life Get Me Roger Stone Gilbert God Knows Where I Am Good Fortune A Gray State Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It All Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story Hearing Is Believing Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS Human Flow I Am Another You I Am Evidence I Am Jane Doe I Called Him Morgan Icarus If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast The Incomparable Rose Hartman An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power Intent to Destroy Jane Jeremiah Tower The Last Magnificent Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower Karl Marx City Kedi Keep Quiet Kiki LA 92 The Last Dalai Lama? The Last Laugh Last Men in Aleppo Legion of Brothers Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982 - 1992 Let’s Play Two Letters from Baghdad Long Strange Trip Look & See Machines Man in Red Bandana Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance Motherland Mully My Scientology Movie Naples ’44 Neary’s - The Dream at the End of the Rainbow Night School No Greater Love No Stone Unturned Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press Nowhere to Hide Obit Oklahoma City One of Us The Paris Opera The Pathological Optimist Prosperity The Pulitzer at 100 Quest Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman The Rape of Recy Taylor The Reagan Show Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan Risk A River Below Rocky Ros Muc Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Santoalla School Life Score: A Film Music Documentary Served Like a Girl The Settlers 78/52 Shadowman Shot! The Psycho Spiritual Mantra of Rock Sidemen: Long Road to Glory The Skyjacker’s Tale Sled Dogs Soufra Spettacolo Step Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex-Trafficking Strong Island Surviving Peace Swim Team Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton Take My Nose... Please! They Call Us Monsters 32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous Tickling Giants Trophy Twenty Two Unrest Vince Giordano - There’s a Future in the Past Voyeur Wait for Your Laugh Wasted! The Story of Food Waste Water & Power: A California Heist Whitney. Can I Be Me Whose Streets? The Work