Determined to do better than the dull slate of nonfiction films that the Academy Awards considers worthy, IndiePix and A.J. Schnack have created their own awards. Both the actual nominees and the name of the new awards will be announced at Sundance, but their short list of 15 films is public. (Compare both lists below).

Schnack's been grousing about the Academy's penchant for choosing worthy subjects over well-made films for a while:

This year, the Academy and the IDA stand on tired notions of righteous causes. They, along with organizations such as Full Frame, believe that nonfiction exists first and foremost to shine light on the great issues. And while the social justice tradition has and always will (and should) exist in nonfiction, many of us believe in nonfiction filmmaking as more than a teaching tool, as something that can be entertaining, as something that can be artistic, as something that can push stylistic boundaries, as something that can reveal the human condition, as something that can be as rival narrative as a filmgoing experience.

So, unlike so many of us online ranters, he took action and got a crowd of other film lovers involved. The new awards will also include seven other categories besides best film--Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing, Graphic Design & Animation, International Feature and Debut Feature.

Various parties weigh in on the new awards, some asking where's King of Kong?

Oscar contenders--5 will be announced later this month:

"Autism: The Musical," directed by Tricia Regan
"Body of War," directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro
"For The Bible Tells Me So," directed by Daniel G. Karslake
"Lake of Fire," directed by Tony Kaye
"Nanking," directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman
"No End in Sight," directed by Charles Ferguson
"Operation Homecoming--Writing the Wartime Experience," directed by Richard Robbins
"Please Vote For Me," directed by Wejun Chen
"The Price of Sugar," directed by Bill Haney
"A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman," directed by Peter Raymont
"The Rape of Europa," directed by Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen
"Sicko," directed by Michael Moore
"Taxi to the Dark Side," directed by Alex Gibney
"War/Dance," directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
"White Light/Black Rain," directed by Steven Okazaki

IndiePix's list:

"Billy the Kid," directed by Jennifer Venditti
"Deep Water," directed by Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
"The Devil Came on Horseback," directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg
"Ghosts of Cite Soleil," directed by Asger Leth
"In the Shadow of the Moon," directed by David Sington
"Into Great Silence," directed by Philip Groning
"Lake of Fire," directed by Tony Kaye
"Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)," directed by Jason Kohn
"Manufactured Landscapes," directed by Jennifer Baichwal
"The Monastery - Mr. Vig and the Nun," directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjær
"No End in Sight," directed by Charles Ferguson
"Sicko," directed by Michael Moore
"Taxi to the Dark Side," directed by Alex Gibney
"The Unforeseen," directed by Laura Dunn
"Zoo," directed by Robinson Devor