Today the nominations for the 2008 Academy Awards were announced. It has now been a full year since Traces of the Trade premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. I must admit to being disappointed that Traces had no theatrical run and consequently was not eligible for Oscar consideration. A nomination would certainly have helped spread the word of hope inherent in the film. That said… the message is definitely being spread. Just check out the upcoming schedule of screenings.

What I’m THRILLED about is that one of my favorite films from last years Sundance, Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) is nominated for best documentary. Also nominated is another Sundance film that I missed and was told by those who saw it that it is also a powerful and important film: Trouble the Water. The third nominee of note for me is a film I saw–and LOVED–at the Newport Film Festival: Man on Wire.

Having been so intimately involved in the documentary film world for close to a decade, I have developed a particular interest in docs. I look forward to the Academy Awards ceremony on February 22. I’ll have to make sure someone records the telecast for me since I’ll be enjoying dinner that evening with several faculty members, staff, and Ghanaian students from Park University in Missouri that evening in advance of my talk the following day at the Spencer Cave Black History Lecture Series.