The nominees for Best Documentary Feature and BestDocumentary Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards have been highlighted by their focus on individuals confronting larger systems rather than themselves. Five films are nominated for the award, including "The Perfect Neighbor," a reconstruction of the 2023 killing of a Florida mother whose conflict with a neighbor escalated into gunfire. "The Alabama Solution," from Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, investigates the crisis inside Alabama’s prison system, where overcrowding and violence have led to national scrutiny. The Iranian documentary “Cutting Through Rocks” follows the first woman elected to a council position in her rural village, and “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” documents a Russian schoolteacher resisting government propaganda during the war in Ukraine. The nominees also address themes of political division, social change, and personal resilience.