"Searching for Sugar Man" is the best-known of the five films whose producers have been nominated for documentary motion pictures by Producers Guild of America, which announced its nominations on Friday.
Malik Bendjelloul's film about the rediscovery of '70s recording artist Rodriguez joined a slate of nominees that also includes Jon Shenk's doc about the outsted president of the Maldives, "The Island President"; Marius A. Merkevicius' story of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team, "The Other Dream Team"; Dror Moreh's chronicle of some members of the Israeli intelligence services, "The Gatekeepers"; and Aaron Yeger's film about the Roma (gypsies) in Europe, "A People Uncounted."
The PGA bypassed number of the year's high-profile docs, including "Bully," "The Queen of Versailles," "The Imposter," "Samsara," "West of Memphis" and "The Invisible War."
Of the guild's choices, only "Sugar Man" was also nominated in the top category at the IDA Awards and the Cinema Eye Honors, the two major awards in the documentary field.
The PGA release:
LOS ANGELES, CA (November 30, 2012) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the Documentary Motion Picture nominees that will advance in the voting process for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards.
The nominated films, listed below in alphabetical order, are:
A PEOPLE UNCOUNTED
THE GATEKEEPERS
THE ISLAND PRESIDENT
THE OTHER DREAM TEAM
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
All other nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Award categories will be announced on January 3, 2013, along with the individual producers.
All 2013 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 26, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also award special honors to Bob and Harvey Weinstein, J.J. Abrams, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Russell Simmons, among others. The 2013 Producers Guild Awards Chair is Michael De Luca.
In 1990, the Producers Guild held the first-ever Golden Laurel Awards, which were renamed the Producers Guild Awards in 2002. Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck took home the award for Best Produced Motion Picture for DRIVING MISS DAISY, establishing the Guild’s awards as a bellwether for the Oscars. Last year, the PGA awarded THE ARTIST with its Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, marking the fifth consecutive year the Producers Guild has presaged the Academy of Motion Picture’s choice.
