Documentary produced by Sunnybrook psychiatrist makes Oscar short list

A film produced by Sunnybrook psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Feinstein has been short listed for the Best Documentary Feature category by the Academy Awards selection committee.

The field was narrowed down from 124 eligible documentaries to just 15. From this short list of films, five will be selected by the Academy's Documentaries Branch for actual nomination for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Nominations will be announced live on January 24, 2012 from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The film, Under Fire: Journalists in Combat, features nine journalists from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. recounting their stories of traumatic experiences and brushes with death while reporting from the front lines of war. Canadian journalists Susan Ormiston, Paul Watson, Ian Stewart and Finbarr O'Reilly are profiled in the documentary, which was directed by Martyn Burke.

Dr. Feinstein, who is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, pioneered the research field of PTSD in war correspondents approximately ten years ago, and has since written several books on the subject.

The film premiered on November 11 in L.A., and a Canadian premiere date will be announced in early 2012. Funding for the film was provided by CBC's documentary channel, The Canadian Media Fund, and Rogers Documentary Fund.