The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles.

The Oscars nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

• The Act of Killing (Final Cut for Real)
• The Armstrong Lie (The Kennedy/Marshall Company)
• Blackfish (Our Turn Productions)
• The Crash Reel (KP Rides Again)
• Cutie and the Boxer (Ex Lion Tamer and Cine Mosaic)
• Dirty Wars (Civic Bakery)
• First Cousin Once Removed (Experiments in Time, Light & Motion)
• God Loves Uganda (Full Credit Productions)
• Life According to Sam (Fine Films)
• Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (Roast Beef Productions)
• The Square (Noujaim Films and Maktube Productions)
• Stories We Tell (National Film Board of Canada)
• Tim’s Vermeer (High Delft Pictures)
• 20 Feet from Stardom (Gil Friesen Productions and Tremolo Productions)
• Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (Tripoli Street)