DGA Excludes 'You Can See Everything' From Feature Film Race, Confining It to Documentary Category
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's film, "You Can See Everything," which probes the story of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, will not contend for the Directors Guild of America's prestigious feature film honor this awards season. The DGA has decided to restrict its eligibility to the documentary category, a ruling that has significant implications for the film's awards prospects. Despite the film's innovative structure that merges non-fiction and staged elements, the guild maintains a strict policy, classifying entries based on their production and submission types. This decision underscores the traditional boundaries within major film awards, even as filmmakers explore new narrative forms. The film's distributors, A24, and awards strategists had campaigned for a broader classification, hoping its unique blend would allow it to compete in both feature and documentary categories.
This reclassification is a setback for the film's momentum, especially given the DGA feature award's historical alignment with the Oscar for Best Director. While it removes a key precursor from its path to the top directorial prize, "You Can See Everything" retains eligibility for the Academy's Best Documentary Feature and could still be a contender for Best Picture. The film has garnered critical acclaim and strong box office performance, sparking discussions about its categorization among critics and audiences alike. As other awards bodies, including BAFTA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Golden Globes, deliberate on its classification, the film's journey through the awards season will be closely watched, particularly for its potential impact on how hybrid films are recognized in the future.
The DGA's Classification Stance and Its Implications
The Directors Guild of America has announced that "You Can See Everything," a film co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, will be exclusively considered for its outstanding directorial achievement in documentary category, effectively barring it from the feature film competition. This decision, confirmed by a DGA representative, highlights the guild's adherence to its established rulebook, which explicitly states that "re-releases, animated films and documentaries are not eligible" for the theatrical feature film award. The film, which delves into the narrative of Elizabeth Holmes, presents a blurred line between traditional non-fiction and scripted storytelling, prompting its distributor, A24, and various awards strategists to advocate for a more flexible classification. However, the DGA's ruling underscores a rigid interpretation of its criteria, prioritizing how a film is produced and submitted over external interpretations or genre innovation. This firm stance has ignited a broader discussion within the film industry regarding the evolving definitions of documentary and feature films, especially as cinematic boundaries continue to expand.
The DGA's decision carries substantial weight within the awards ecosystem, primarily because its feature film award has historically been a strong predictor of the Oscar for Best Director. With only a handful of exceptions since 1949, the DGA winner has typically gone on to secure the Academy Award. Therefore, the exclusion of "You Can See Everything" from this category significantly impacts its potential to gain momentum for the highly coveted Best Director Oscar. Despite this hurdle, the film's prospects are not entirely diminished. A potential win in the DGA's documentary category could still bolster its standing for the Academy's Best Documentary Feature award, and potentially even for Best Picture, a category where non-fiction films rarely receive nominations. The film, which runs for 174 minutes and premiered to strong critical reception and box office success on October 16, continues to be a subject of debate among critics and audiences regarding its classification, oscillating between a traditional documentary, a reality TV-esque concept, or a novel cinematic form. This ongoing discussion reflects the broader challenges that hybrid films face in navigating established awards structures, compelling other organizations like BAFTA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Golden Globes to re-evaluate their own classification methods.
Navigating the Awards Landscape: Post-DGA Decision
Following the DGA's classification decision, "You Can See Everything" faces a recalibrated awards season strategy, albeit with continued high hopes for other significant accolades. The film's unique narrative approach, blending fact and dramatization in its portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes, presented a challenge to conventional awards categories. While its exclusion from the DGA's top feature prize is a notable setback, the filmmakers and A24 are actively engaging with other prominent awards bodies, including BAFTA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Golden Globes, to discuss appropriate classifications. The goal is to ensure the film receives recognition across a spectrum of categories that accurately reflect its artistic merit and innovative structure. This ongoing dialogue underscores the industry's struggle to adapt to films that defy easy categorization, pushing for a re-evaluation of rigid award criteria in an era of creative experimentation.
Despite the DGA's ruling, the film maintains strong eligibility for a variety of prestigious awards, including the Academy's Best Documentary Feature at the upcoming 99th Academy Awards. Beyond this, A24 plans to submit "You Can See Everything" for consideration in numerous other Oscar categories. These include Best Picture, recognizing the collective efforts of Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, Tatiana Bears, Maggie Ambrose, and Jack Davis as producers. Both Fielder and Oppenheim are also being put forward for Best Director. Additionally, cast members Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Abbott are being positioned for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Technical and artistic achievements are also being highlighted, with submissions for Production Design, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, and Original Score. The breadth of these submissions reflects the film's comprehensive artistic quality and the belief that it can achieve widespread recognition across various facets of filmmaking, even as it navigates the complexities of awards season classifications. Nominations for the 79th annual DGA Awards are slated for announcement in January, which will further clarify the film's standing within the documentary landscape.
