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The New York Times Carpetbagger blog, the publication’s awards season feature, recently released the Academy shortlist of the documentaries to be considered for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Over one hundred entries were considered, but fifteen were selected, with Edward Snowden story Citizenfour reigning as the renowning favorite, with the help of two Best Doc wins from yesterday’s New York Film Critics Circle Awards as well as the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Citizenfour, along with some of the other contenders including the Clark Terry story Keep On Keepin’ On and Jesse Moss’ harrowing The Overnighters, is still making their way through theaters. In the meantime, however, get up to speed before Oscar season is in full swing by streaming other shortlist titles from the comfort of your couch.

The Case Against 8

The hit HBO documentary shook audiences last winter, resurfacing the injustice that occurred in the aftermath of California’s Proposition 8 provision, which stated that legally binding marriage can only be “between a man and a woman.”

Citizen Koch

Filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin follow insiders of the Tea Party and their mysterious acquisitions to enormous amounts of campaign funds in this fascinating account now available to stream on Netflix.

Finding Vivian Maier

No one suspected a demure nanny to affluent New Yorkers would go on to become a street photography legend. Until the recent recovery of over 100,000 photos, Americans have been relatively unaware of Maier and her mysterious life as a silent voice of the Greatest Generation.

The Internet’s Own Boy

Chronicling the events leading up to as well as the aftermath of the suicide of Reddit co-founder, Aaron Swartz, who was blackmailed by the government for his information activism.

Jodorowsky’s Dune

The account of director Alejandro Jodorowsky desperately trying to make the greatest adaptation of the surreal sci-fi classic and running into every filmmaker’s worst nightmares. You can watch the whole catastrophe on YouTube.

The Kill Team

Private Adam Winfield allows director Dan Krauss to use his point of view to understand the moral and emotional struggle young soldiers are faced with in battle in the Middle East. If you’ve seen one war doc, you’ve seen a million, but The Kill Team is something far different and all too real.

Virunga

Amidst a brutal civil war over natural resources, Congo natives are torn between saving themselves and protecting the incredible landscape they call home. Environmentalists native to the area have made it their duty to protect the wildlife in the areas consistently under attack, including the world’s last mountain gorillas. Exclusively on Netflix.

Other titles still in theaters:

Art and Craft
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Salt of the Earth
Tales of the Grim Sleeper

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Photos: Everett Collection