The 2026 Oscar-nominated documentaries are sensitive and transformative

Review The 2026 Oscar-nominated documentaries are sensitive and transformative March 4, 2026 12:28 PM ET By Davi Merchan The killing of Ajike "A.J." Owens is the subject of the The Perfect Neighbor , one of five Academy Award nominees for outstanding documentary feature this year. Netflix hide caption toggle caption Netflix There is a prevalent sentiment among documentary filmmakers that most streamers and distributors are only interested in projects about the three C's — cults, crime and celebrities. But this year's five Oscar-nominated feature documentaries prove that, while that may be largely true, such a belief is only one side of the picture, and that even documentaries that fall into these categories can still bring an innovative, moving and impactful approach to nonfiction storytelling. Despite the challenging issues all these films explore — from terminal illness, to life in one of the deadliest prison systems in the United States and in a small Russian town in the midst of a war — these filmmakers tackle them with sensitivity, humanity and unexpected humor. In the era of big-budget documentaries, these films are a great reminder of the transformative power of nonfiction stories, and that, more often than not, all you need is a camera and a strong story that must be told to move and connect with audiences. The Alabama Solution YouTube The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791. It simply reads "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Nearly 235 years later, thousands of people have died while in government custody , at prisons and jails, in what advocates — and courts — have said are direct violations of prisoners' constitutional rights. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in Alabama , one of the deadliest prison systems in America. The Alabama Solution is a six-year investigation into the crisis unfolding at prisons across the southern stat...