'Paradise Lost 3,' 'Project Nim,' 'Pina' Make Oscar Documentary Shortlist

"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"

Fifteen of the 124 qualified films in the 2012 documentary feature Oscar category made it onto the shortlist Nov. 18, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced.

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Now branch members will pare the 15 films down to five nominees, who will be announced Jan. 24 at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The winning award will be presented at the Oscar ceremony Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

The nominees are:

Battle for Brooklyn (RUMER Inc.)
Bill Cunningham New York (First Thought Films)
Buck (Cedar Creek Productions)
Hell and Back Again (Roast Beef Productions Limited)
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (Marshall Curry Productions, LLC)
Jane's Journey (NEOS Film GmbH & Co. KG)
The Loving Story (Augusta Films)
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (@radical.media)
Pina (Neue Road Movies GmbH)
Project Nim (Red Box Films)
Semper Fi: Always Faithful (Tied to the Tracks Films, Inc.)
Sing Your Song (S2BN Belafonte Productions, LLC)
Undefeated (Spitfire Pictures)
Under Fire: Journalists in Combat (JUF Pictures, Inc.)
We Were Here (Weissman Projects, LLC)