With all that’s happened this week in Washington D.C. Official Oscar Nominations may have gone under the radar for some.  But at 8:38 ET Forest Whitaker and the Academy announced their top picks for the 2009 Academy Awards.   Chances are whatever brief bit you hear or see on television will only talk about Brad Pitt and Heath Ledger, so we’d like to take this time to congratulate the final nominations for documentary feature.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) – Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

Encounters at the End of the World – Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser

The Garden – Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Man on Wire – James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Trouble the Water -Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

A very special congratulations to Scott Hamilton Kennedy and his film THE GARDEN for the nod.  His  film took home our inaugural Harrell Award for Best Documentary at the 2008 CIFF and it was our pleasure to host Kennedy.  His connection to our audience during the films post-screening Q&A is something that even the Oscars can’t measure.