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Variety ranks 20 documentaries that never received a Best Picture Oscar nomination, as the acclaimed Elizabeth Holmes film "You Can See Everything" puts the Academy's nearly century-long exclusion of nonfiction to the test.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Academy** has never nominated a documentary for Best Picture in nearly a century of Oscars; after the 2008 snub of "The Dark Knight," it expanded the category from five to 10 slots and its announcement raised the possibility of a documentary being recognized — a first that has yet to happen.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**You Can See Everything**, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's nonfiction film about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, anchors Variety's ranking of 20 films over the past 40 years that never received a Best Picture nomination; the source says a nomination for it would be historic, and that it should not have been the first.

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20 Documentaries Snubbed for Best Picture Oscar — SkimNews

By Variety · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-25

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Academy has never nominated a documentary for Best Picture in nearly a century of Oscars; after the 2008 snub of "The Dark Knight," it expanded the category from five to 10 slots and its announcement raised the possibility of a documentary being recognized — a first that has yet to happen.
You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's nonfiction film about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, anchors Variety's ranking of 20 films over the past 40 years that never received a Best Picture nomination; the source says a nomination for it would be historic, and that it should not have been the first.
Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen's animated account of Afghan refugee Amin, became the first film nominated for documentary feature, international feature and animated feature in the same year in 2021, losing in all three categories while Best Picture remained out of reach.
Daughters, Angela Patton and Natalie Rae's film following four girls preparing for a father-daughter dance inside a Washington, D.C., prison, won Sundance's Audience Award and Festival Favorite prize, made the documentary shortlist and then missed a nomination at the 2025 ceremony.
O.J.: Made in America, Ezra Edelman's nearly eight-hour examination of race, celebrity, policing and justice through O.J. Simpson's life, won the documentary feature Oscar; its recognition prompted renewed scrutiny of multipart nonfiction and contributed to later eligibility changes concerning episodic work.
Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Morgan Neville's portrait of Fred Rogers, was the highest-grossing biographical documentary of its time, reached the documentary shortlist and was passed over at the 2019 ceremony — the same outcome that befell "Three Identical Strangers."
Cameraperson, Kirsten Johnson's essay assembled from decades filming in war zones, hospitals and interview rooms, won wide admiration but was not nominated by the documentary branch; "Dear Zachary," Kurt Kuenne's memorial to his murdered friend's son, was likewise passed over.

Why it matters: The barrier is not confined to the 10-film Best Picture slate: the source ties several omissions to the Academy's Documentary Branch, which passed on "Daughters," "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and "Dear Zachary" before any Best Picture run. "Man on Wire" won the documentary Oscar in 2009, and "Flee" made history in 2021 — yet neither reached the top category.