Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s “Kiss the Future” Will Be Competing Against These Documentaries at the 2025 Oscars

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s documentary feature Kiss The Future faced some issues with eligibility and was even disqualified by the Academy. However, in a turn of events, the committee has changed its mind with the movie now capable of being nominated for the awards.

Every year, though thousands of movies are released, only an exceptional few are nominated for the Oscar Awards. Before that, people vote to have their favorite movie nominated out of the films that pass the eligibility criteria. Here’s a look at the top contenders that might receive the nomination status for the documentary feature in competition with Kiss the Future.

Black Box Diaries

With a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the impact and significance of Black Box Diaries has been huge. The story revolves around journalist Shiori Ito as she investigates her s*xual assault case to get the justice she deserves. Ito has also directed the documentary to have a seamless narrative flow.

The documentary further delves into the overarching legal framework and processes in Japan and other harrowing details about how women are treated. On the other side of this battle, the perpetrator, Noriyuki Yamaguchi is the head of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, who will do anything in his power to quash the investigation.

Dahomey

Dahomey is a documentary feature imbued with rich cultural history and legacy narratives. It showcases 26 royal artifacts that were present during the reign in the Kingdom of Dahomey and their subsequent travels to France during the Colonial period. Mati Diop has written, directed, and co-produced Dahomey.

The quest for repartition is highlighted in the documentary with people of Dahomey demanding the artifacts be returned from the French museum to their rightful place of origin. The artifacts were highly valued and contained some precious items including statues of two kings and even their thrones. There are some fictional elements in the documentary for the sake of uncomplicated storytelling.

Daughters

Tugging at the heartstrings of every father and daughter, this documentary is bound to stir up various emotions. Daughters, directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, follows the inmates at a Washington prison who get to meet their daughters and celebrate a father-daughter dance event.

The documentary is the recipient of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival where it managed to delight everyone. It’s a poignant tale of how a child’s life is impacted by their parent’s actions, especially at a time when they are taken away from their kids at such young ages.

No Other Land

A group of directors worked in tandem to make this documentary a reality – Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. The directors are activists who chose to wield their cameras and scriptwriting pens as weapons against the continuing war and express themselves through this art.

The displacement of the people of Masafer Yatta and the subsequent destruction of the place are at the heart of the narrative. Watching one’s homeland get bombed in front of one’s eyes is no easy sight to behold. The documentary gives a touching portrayal of the conflict that has wreaked havoc for many years now.

Sugarcane

Rotten Tomatoes approves Sugarcane with a 100% score. The deeply moving and heartbreaking documentary outlines a series of child abuse and missing children narratives that shake the Canadian-Indian population. Moreover, a nearby sugarcane reserve feels the tremors of the investigation.

Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie have directed the documentary with a special focus on the survivors and victims of the abuse. The emotional power of the documentary forces people to reckon with the events and consequences that have far-reaching implications not just for the people involved but also for society as a whole.