In a year that began with the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance and surged like a juggernaut through the festival circuit and awards season, James Marsh and Simon Chinn's Man on Wire brought home the grandest prize of all, the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Philippe Pettit, the star and narrator of the film, bounded up on stage, took out a coin given to him by fellow nominee Werner Herzog, declared, "So now it's time to thank the academy for believing in magic," made the coin disappear, and balanced the Oscar on his chin. No tightrope act this time, but we sure could have used a spritely antedote to that turgid, overwrought, underfocussed tribute to movie musicals...Now, who was it who said documentaries are boring?
Smile Pinki, which qualified for Academy Award consideration through IDA's DocuWeek Theatrical Documentary Showcase, earned the Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar. Filmmaker Megan Mylan graciously extolled the privilege of making a living telling stories, and gave a shout-out to The Smile Train, and to the hero and heroine of the film, Dr. Pankaj and Pinki helself. For those of you keeping score, Smile Pinki is the seventh Oscar winner to have qualified through DocuWeek--and the third winner in a row.
Overall, a tasteful and classy showcase for docs at the Oscars, with the eminence grise, Al Maysles, having made the short that served to introduce both the films and the filmmakers sharing their thoughts on their chosen art form. And having Bill Maher, the producer and start of the top grossing doc of 2008, Religulous, announce the winners, was a nice bonus.
And in case you missed it, here is the Man on Wire team accepting their award: