O.J.: Made in America in position for Oscar and Emmy awards

ESPN hasn’t been coy about the ambitions for its O.J.: Made in America documentary. With an eight-hour running time, the network envisioned a scope for this project far beyond what the other films in its 30 for 30 series had accomplished. Those aspirations may pay off as we move into the movie awards season.

Ezra Edelman’s film strived for much more than to tell the story of a particular moment or capture an era. By spanning the life and career of O.J. Simpson, Made in America explores race and gender relations, athletic idolatry, domestic abuse, police brutality, media culture and celebrity worship among its many themes. Knowing what it had on his hands, ESPN has sought to get the documentary all the recognition it deserves.

If it hadn’t already been clear, ESPN tipped off its intentions in May, nearly a month before the first part of Made in America premiered on ABC. The network put Made in America in theatrical release for one week in Los Angeles and New York, in order to make the film eligible for Academy Awards consideration. The effort to get the documentary seen by film critics, not just TV critics, appears to be getting the results for which ESPN was hoping.

With the end of the year nearing, plenty of film sites and news outlets with arts coverage are compiling their best movies of the year lists. The New York Times released the choices from their critics this past week, and O.J.: Made in America figured prominently on a few of those lists.

Chief film critic Manohla Dargis ranked the film at No. 4 on her list, while colleague A.O. Scott put the film even higher at No. 2.

“History, biography, sports, celebrity, race, gender, police brutality and media insanity — Ezra Edelman’s five-part documentary touches on nearly everything horrible and fascinating in the last half-century of American life. A triumph of archival research, it’s also a masterpiece of insight, a rare documentary with the heft and sprawl of great literature.”

The NYT’s third film critic, Stephen Holden, also named Made in America as the second-best film of 2016.

Variety’s awards editor, Kris Tapley, who covers the Oscars race thoroughly with his “In Contention” blog, writes that Made in America might have front-runner status among the candidates for Best Documentary, if for no other reason than it had the advantage of playing prominently on TV.

Furthermore, being on TV also puts the film in consideration for the Emmy Awards. However, Made in America would be eligible for next year’s Emmys because the premiere on ABC missed the May 31 cutoff. Getting theatrical and TV runs isn’t unprecedented for a documentary. As Tapley explains, Netflix’s The Square earned both Oscar and Emmy nominations two years ago, while HBO’s Citizenfour received the same consideration the following year.

Also helping O.J.: Made in America‘s chances in the Oscars race are awards victories from the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.