A24 will campaign “You Can See Everything” in 11 Oscar categories, led by best picture, setting up a run at a milestone no documentary has reached in 98 ceremonies: a nomination for the top prize, Variety reported. The studio also plans to submit Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s film for director, supporting actress, documentary feature, and craft awards including cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, sound and score. The supporting actress bid belongs to Amanda Seyfried, who appears in the film as herself and as a version of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
The film premiered as a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival in September. It follows Holmes through the 34 days before she reported to prison in 2023 and continues well beyond. A24 released it Oct. 16, and it opened to an estimated $15 million, a strong debut for a three-hour documentary that cost about $7 million to make. It expands nationwide this weekend.
Best picture is the less predictable path. Nominees emerge from a ballot of the Academy’s full membership, roughly 11,000 voters, while the documentary branch decides the feature category. Variety’s awards column argues the branch may resist a film in which Fielder appears on camera. A snub there could backfire, the column suggests, in the way Ben Affleck’s directing omission for “Argo” energized voters to back that film for best picture.
The documentary race also looks crowded. The 98th Oscars drew 201 eligible nonfiction films, and Gold Derby lists “Naza” as the early leader for the category, with “You Can See Everything” a contender but not a lock. Commentators describe the Academy’s documentary voters as hard to read, and some analysts consider a best picture nomination easier to land than a documentary one because international titles have dominated recent nonfiction fields.
Other precursor awards offer limited help. The Golden Globes exclude documentaries, according to Deadline. The Critics Choice Association has nominated the film for five prizes at its separate documentary ceremony on Nov. 8, including best documentary feature. Oscar nominations arrive in January, ahead of the 99th Academy Awards in March.
