We are over the moon celebrating members of the Women Make Movies community who won at the 98th Academy Awards! WMM filmmakers and family took home Oscar wins in both the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short categories.
The winners are:
🏆Winner: Best Documentary Feature Film
MR NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN
Co-directed by Pasha Talankin & David Borenstein
Produced by WMM filmmaker Helle Faber*, as well as David Borenstein, Alžběta Karásková, Radovan Síbrt
Executive Produced by WMM filmmaker Robin Hessman
In a remote Russian mining town, a primary school teacher covertly documents the state’s transformation of classrooms into recruitment grounds for war. Tasked with filming “patriotic education” sessions, he turns the lens on the indoctrination of youth, capturing moments of coerced loyalty and silent dissent. This intimate documentary offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the erosion of truth and the resilience of those who dare to resist, even at great personal cost.
*Helle Faber previously produced the WMM-distributed documentary ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS, the 2007 Grand Jury Prize Winner for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance.
🏆Winner for Best Documentary Short Film:
ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS
Directed by Joshua Seftel
Produced by Joshua Seftel, Conall Jones, Trevor Burgess, and James Costa
Executive Produced by WMM Board Members Claire Aguilar & Lisa Cortés
A veteran CBS News correspondent and a photographer spend seven years documenting the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings, creating a portrait of absence that lingers long after headlines fade. Stepping away from feel-good stories, the correspondent quietly pursues a deeply personal investigation into memory, grief, and the far-reaching ripples of America’s gun violence crisis. In the silence of these rooms, the film reveals truths statistics can’t hold.
Congratulations also to WMM filmmaker and program alum Geeta Ghandbir who received two Oscar nominations: PERFECT NEIGHBOR for Best Documentary Feature and THE DEVIL WAS BUSY for Best Documentary Short. THE DEVIL WAS BUSY was also produced by WMM filmmakers Rose Arce, Soledad O’Brien, and Amber Fares, as well as Christalyn Hampton.
This concludes a remarkable season with many historic milestones for feminist filmmaking, including:
- More than half of the films shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature were by WMM filmmakers;
- All films nominated for Best Documentary Feature were directed or produced by a woman; and
- Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win the award for Best Cinematographer.
Congratulations to all of the filmmakers! For more details and the full list of winners, visit the Academy’s website.
