Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Targets Oscar History With Best Picture Campaign

A24 is mounting an unprecedented awards campaign for "You Can See Everything," the Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, with the audacious goal of securing the first-ever Best Picture nomination for a documentary film. The studio's push represents one of the boldest strategic bets in recent Oscar history, challenging nearly a century of Academy Awards tradition that has kept documentaries in their own category.

The film debuted to stunned audiences at the Telluride Film Festival in early September, where it screened without advance notice or marketing. Fielder and Oppenheim spent three years filming Holmes during the 34 days before she reported to federal prison to begin serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing company.

What makes "You Can See Everything" particularly compelling for awards voters is its unprecedented access. Holmes, who became a symbol of Silicon Valley hubris and deception, allowed the filmmakers to document her every move as she prepared to surrender her freedom. The result is a portrait that humanizes Holmes without excusing her crimes, showing her interactions with family, legal team, and supporters during those final weeks of liberty.

The documentary's October 18 theatrical release generated 15 million dollars from just 855 theaters, a remarkable per-screen average that demonstrated significant audience interest beyond the typical documentary crowd. Those box office results have emboldened A24's strategy to position the film not merely as the year's best documentary, but as one of the best films of any kind released in 2026.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences changed its rules in 2009 to allow between five and ten Best Picture nominees, opening a theoretical path for documentaries to break through in the top category while still competing in Best Documentary Feature. Several documentaries have appeared on critical best-of-year lists in the past decade, but none has seriously contended for Best Picture until now.

A24, which won Best Picture for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in 2023, has demonstrated a willingness to run unconventional campaigns that challenge industry assumptions. The studio is leveraging Fielder's celebrity following from "Nathan for You" and "The Rehearsal," while emphasizing the documentary's cinematic qualities and narrative tension that rival any scripted thriller.

Oppenheim, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker known for "Some Kind of Heaven" and "Spermworld," brings technical artistry that elevates the project beyond standard documentary aesthetics. The duo's approach blends Fielder's signature deadpan observation with Oppenheim's visual sophistication, creating a viewing experience that defies easy categorization.

The campaign faces significant obstacles. Academy voters in the Directors Branch, Actors Branch, and other guilds may resist the precedent-shattering implications of nominating a documentary for Best Picture. Many voters maintain traditionalist views about genre boundaries and worry that opening the door to documentaries in the top category could fundamentally alter the Oscars landscape.

Industry observers note that the film's subject matter could work both for and against its chances. Holmes remains a polarizing figure whose fraud caused real financial harm to investors and potentially endangered patients who relied on inaccurate blood test results from Theranos devices. Some voters may question whether a film about Holmes deserves the Academy's highest honor, regardless of its artistic merits.

Fielder and Oppenheim have been conducting screenings and Q&A sessions with Academy members throughout October, emphasizing the film's ethical framework and its refusal to lionize its subject. The directors argue that "You Can See Everything" examines larger themes about American entrepreneurship, media manipulation, and the consequences of unchecked ambition that transcend the specifics of the Theranos scandal.

The documentary is widely expected to earn a nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category, where it enters as a heavy favorite to win. The real question is whether A24's aggressive campaigning can convince enough Academy voters to also include it among the year's Best Picture nominees when voting concludes in early January.

If "You Can See Everything" achieves even a Best Picture nomination, the precedent would reshape awards strategy for documentary filmmakers and distributors. Studios would have incentive to give major documentaries theatrical releases and awards pushes comparable to prestige fiction films, potentially elevating the entire documentary genre in mainstream culture.

The 2027 Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 23, with nominations announced on January 17. By then, A24's unprecedented campaign will have succeeded or failed in its quest to make Oscar history, and Nathan Fielder will have added another improbable chapter to a career built on defying expectations.