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Mr. Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026. The award honored films released in 2025; the other nominees were The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light, Cutting through Rocks and The Perfect Neighbor. The Academy’s current category name is “Documentary Feature Film.”
What is Best Documentary Feature?
Best Documentary Feature is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oscar category for eligible nonfiction films. In its current rules, the Academy defines an eligible documentary as “a nonfiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects.” The emphasis must be on fact rather than fiction, but the form is not restricted to straightforward observational footage.
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The Academy permits techniques including actual-occurrence footage, partial reenactments, stock footage, still images, animation and stop-motion. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee makes final eligibility decisions, so a film’s nonfiction subject or a filmmaker’s own description of it does not by itself establish that it qualifies.
Who won Best Documentary Feature in 2026?
Mr. Nobody Against Putin won the category at the 98th Oscars, held March 15, 2026. The award recognized films released in 2025.
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- Documentary Feature Film providing an in-depth look at the music, politics, activism, and bold life of music icon, Nina Simone.
- Only film to feature over 50 of Nina's friends, family, band members, lovers and fellow musicians, giving viewers a deeper, stronger understanding of Nina and her artistic intentions.
- Features her involvement with key friends and figures: Martin Luther King, Jr., Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Miriam Makeba
- Nina Simone's story from birth in the segregated American South to her death in the South of France
- The stories behind Nina Simone's most iconic songs: Mississippi Goddam, Four Women, Young, Gifted and Black, Why? The King of Love is Dead, Strange Fruit, Sinnerman, Porgy, Ne Me Qutite Pas, Wild is the Wind, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
The film follows Pavel Talankin, a Russian teacher and activities director who recorded students’ lessons, chants and songs promoting Russia’s war in Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, Talankin moved the footage out of Russia and then worked with American director David Borenstein to make the film. Borenstein described it as “about how you lose your country.” The film premiered at Sundance, and Apple TV distributed it. Distribution does not establish that it is currently available in every country or that access is included with a subscription; check the service’s listing in your territory for current rental or viewing options.
2026 Documentary Feature nominees
- Mr. Nobody Against Putin — winner
- The Alabama Solution
- Come See Me in the Good Light
- Cutting through Rocks
- The Perfect Neighbor
The 98th Academy Awards had 24 award categories. Most had five nominees; Best Picture had 10. The Academy reported that 19 branches determined nominations in their respective categories and that nomination ballots came from 88 countries. Those figures describe the Academy’s awards process overall, not a documentary-only voting tally.
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- Factory sealed DVD
How can a documentary qualify for the 99th Academy Awards?
For the 99th Awards cycle, the Academy lists two routes relevant to Documentary Feature: a qualifying award at an approved film festival or a qualifying theatrical run. A film must meet the requirements for its route and submit the required materials; qualifying does not guarantee a nomination or final eligibility.
Route 1: Win a qualifying festival award
A qualifying award must be won between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. The Academy’s qualifying-festival list includes festivals such as Berlinale, Cannes, CPH:DOX, Doc Edge, Docaviv, Hot Docs, IDFA and Sheffield DocFest, among others. It is the specified award—not merely screening at one of those festivals—that can support this route.
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Route 2: Complete a qualifying theatrical run
The theatrical route applies to qualifying runs between January 1 and December 31, 2026. The Academy defines a qualifying commercial theater as a year-round, brick-and-mortar venue that regularly shows first-run films for paid admission. It should offer public programming, charge admission, market films through regular listings or advertising, and generally show a film for seven consecutive days with multiple screenings each day.
Submission deadlines for the 99th Awards
As of October 26, 2026, both Documentary Feature submission deadlines listed for this cycle have passed:
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- Films qualifying from October 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, had to submit required materials by August 13, 2026, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
- Films qualifying from July 1 through December 31, 2026, had to submit by October 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. A film planning a late-year theatrical run also needed to provide a theatrical booking-confirmation document by that deadline.
What films and credits are excluded?
The entry must be an individual, finished film—not a work in progress. The Academy excludes multipart or limited series, episodes from a larger series, composite-program segments and alternate versions of works that are ineligible. The submitted version must be the definitive version that qualified, with clearances for commercial exhibition.
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- Winner! Best Documentary, 2010 GI Film Festival
- "You Will Be Riveted" - NY Times
- "Superb" - LA Weekly
- "Deeply Moving" - Frmr Secretery of State Colin Powell
- "Profound" - Time Out NY
For nominee credits, the Academy allows up to four designated nominees. One must be the credited director who exercised directorial control; other designated nominees must have a director or producer credit. The Producers Guild of America vets producer eligibility, with final determinations made by the Documentary Branch Executive Committee. Executive producers, co-producers, associate producers, line producers and similar credits are not eligible for nominations or statuettes under the stated rules.
How has the category name changed?
The category has been in continuous operation since 1943, though its official label has changed. Historical records list the progression as “Documentary” in 1943, “Documentary (Feature)” from 1944 through 2022, and “Documentary Feature Film” from 2023 onward. The Academy’s 2026 ceremony page uses “Documentary Feature Film”; “Best Documentary Feature” remains a common reader-facing name for the award.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a country’s International Feature submission also compete for Documentary Feature?
Yes. A film selected and deemed eligible as a country’s official International Feature entry may also enter Documentary Feature. It still needs a separate Documentary Feature form.
Did the Academy give a documentary award before 1943?
A historical compilation records Special Awards in 1942 before the category’s competitive introduction in 1943. It also records a ceremony—the 19th Academy Awards—at which no award was given in this category.
Does a documentary have to avoid reenactments to qualify?
No. The Academy allows partial reenactments and other constructed techniques, as well as animation, stills and archival material, provided the film’s emphasis remains on fact rather than fiction.
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