8 Doc Shorts Shortlisted for 2008 Oscars®

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject entries for the 81st Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 31 eligible contenders and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“David McCullough: Painting with Words”
“Downstream”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“Tongzhi in Love”
“Viva La Causa”
“The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306”

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.