Navalny wins Best Documentary Feature at 2023 Oscars

One of the co-favorites to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Navalny — which is based on the poisoning of Alexei Navalny — won the Oscar on Sunday.

Navalny and Fire of Love opened as the two leading favorites for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Navalny is listed as the favorite with -225 odds while Fire of Love is just behind at +200 odds. Rounding out the top three is All the Beauty and Bloodshed at +600.

Daniel Rohny’s Navalny has some award-winning momentum on its side after picking up big wins at the BAFTAs and Producer’s Guild of America. While Fire of Love, a feel-good documentary that recalls the story of Katia and Maurice Kraftt, two scientists who die in a volcanic explosion, picked up a nice win at the Director’s Guild of America, Navalny has some timely relevance that may play into its favor as the odds-on favorite for Best Documentary Feature.

The feature follows Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery, he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life. Given the ongoing climate amidst the war in Ukraine, it could give the documentary feature a slight edge in what is truly a wide-open race for this Academy Award.