Rev. Danny Fisher

Three documentaries that I have blogged about a lot here–Steve James and Peter Gilbert’s At the Death House Door, Scott Hicks’ Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, and Errol Morris’ Standard Operating Procedure–are among the fifteen films shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Best Documentary Feature category for next year’s 81st Annual Academy Awards.

At the Death House Door examines the death penalty issue through the life of Huntsville prison chaplain Carroll “Bud” Pickett, who from 1982 to 1995 accompanied 95 Texas convicts to their executions. Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts chronicles the life and work of modern composer and Buddhist practitioner Philip Glass. Standard Operating Procedure investigates the acts of torture committed by U.S. military personnel at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. Trailers for each are below. They’re all remarkable films that I encourage you to see.