2009 Oscar nominations were just announced and BBC Motion Gallery, once again, served as a creative partner for a variety of this year’s top documentary and true-story feature film nominees. Producers consistently look to the clip sales arm of BBC Worldwide America due to their ever-expanding catalogue of real-life footage documenting historical events and hard to capture moments in nature.
 
Academy Awards nominees featuring footage licensed from BBC Motion Gallery include:
 
THE BETRAYAL (Nerakhoon) - Best Documentary Feature
This critically acclaimed film follows the true story of the Phrasavath family, who fled to the US after the pullout of American troops from Laos in the 1970s. The film took over 23 years to complete. BBC Motion Gallery licensed 108 seconds of footage exclusively represented by BBC Motion Gallery, of BBC and CBS news material featuring President John F. Kennedy and the American military in Laos.  The film is also a 2009 Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Documentary.
 
TROUBLE THE WATER - Best Feature Documentary
This is the true story of two people who survive hurricane Katrina and become everyday heroes in the face of extreme adversity.  The filmmakers licensed 68 seconds of footage from BBC Motion Gallery, from CBS and BBC News, of Katrina and the Iraq war including overhead shots of flooding, levee breaching, person stranded on rooftop, and children being rescued. Directed and produced by Tia Lessin, (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11) and Carl Deal, and executive produced by Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes, the story is told through a mixture of  home movies and archival news footage. The film also won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Award Sundance 2008.
 
MAN ON WIRE – Best Documentary Feature

A  documentary about  the “artistic crime of the century.” On August 7, 1974, a young Frenchman stepped on a wire illegally rigged between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1,350 feet in the air, and danced on the wire for almost an hour before being arrested.  The film tells the story through interviews, re-enactments and still photographs and archival footage from the 1970s.  BBC Motion Gallery licensed exclusive CBS footage of the Twin Towers and a clip of a cable walker at the World Trade Center. The film also won the Sundance 2008 Jury Prize and Audience Award for World Documentary.  (Studio: Magnolia Pictures)
 
MILK - Nominated for 8 Academy Awards - Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Editing
This extraordinary film follows the real-life story of Harvey Milk, who, in 1978, became the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office. Filmed on location in San Francisco, the film  incorporates archival news footage of the heated gay rights battles of that period.  BBC Motion Gallery licensed 47 seconds of exclusive footage from CBS News, featuring anchors Walter Cronkite and Roger Mudd introducing different gay rights ordinance repeals. (Studio: Focus Features)

FROST/NIXON - Nominated for 5 Academy Awards - Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing
Based on the stage play by Peter Morgan about the battle of wills between disgraced former president Richard Nixon and  interviewer David Frost in 1977, this film is often mentioned as Ron Howard’s best work.  Howard uses authentic locations — Nixon's house at San Clemente, and Frost's  hotel — and seamlessly incorporates archival news footage in the tight fabric of the story.  BBC Motion Gallery licensed almost four minutes of exclusive CBS News footage including the Watergate break-in, John Dean’s testimony, and Severied talking about the last hours of Nixon’s presidency. (Studio: Imagine / Universal)