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The win is likely between two emotional Polish pieces and one American one. The American one, “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press One,” is what I have marked down right now. It follows workers at the crisis center that deals with veterans as they are threatening to kill themselves. Indeed, it showcases mini-suspense vignettes and crises that workers at the center have to deal with. Essentially, it is the real-life version of “The Phone Call” from the Live Action race. The documentary is not as stylistic as the two Polish pieces but it is perhaps the most “important,” and could be a clear way to reward the subject matter along with the film, particularly in a year where the pro-veteran narrative of American Sniper is in the race. And it would be a worthy winner, in my view.

But, once more, don’t discount the power of emotion. The Polish “Our Curse” is a confessional piece of sorts by two young parents who have a son afflicted by something known as Oden’s Curse - a disease that makes the body stop breathing while sleeping. This is, of course, particularly cruel for a baby, who has to have a tracheotomy and wear a tube for the rest of his life. The emotional hardships the parents go through and the love with which they shower the baby, coupled with some disturbing tube-in-throat scenes, are the most upsetting and got the strongest reactions from audiences. It is touching beyond belief, and beautiful.

And then there is the other Polish entry, “Joanna,” prepared by a woman who had terminal cancer while she documents her relationship with her young son in her final days. Poignantly, Joanna begins to notice and cherish the small details in life and conveys this in beautiful ways in the film. The film is very stylized and could win for that, although I found it slower and less gripping (perhaps purposefully so) than “Our Curse” or “Crisis Hotline.”

To be frank I’m a bit perplexed as between these three. Past history does not help much as there is precedent for wins by all types of documentaries. Wins rewarding good work done by selfless individuals like in “Strangers No More” a few years back support a win by “Crisis Hotline,” while wins to undeniably likable characters that overcome adversity like “Inocente” two years ago support “Our Curse” this year. So I’m picking “Crisis Hotline” for the win but “Our Curse” is the obvious spoiler.

This is it folks, the home stretch. In the coming days I will handicap the three hardest races of the year, which also happen to be the most important: Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture, and then it will be time for final predictions. We will be putting a bow on it before you can say Boyman.

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