Director from Palmer Township says Oscar nomination is a win for outsiders

For filmmaker Roger Ross Williams, a second Academy Award nomination was no less thrilling than his first.

"I was with my producer Julie Goldman, and we were jumping up and down screaming. And then I burst into tears of joy," Williams, who grew up in Easton and Palmer Township, said over the phone before heading into a screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2010, Williams won an Oscar for "Music by Prudence," a documentary short he directed about a Zimbabwean singer-songwriter with disabilities. His second nomination came Tuesday morning, when his film "Life, Animated" was announced as one of five nominees in the feature documentary category.

"It takes so long to make these films," he said. "I've been working on ("Life, Animated") over two and a half years, and it's just so amazing to receive accolades from my peers and community."

Roger Ross Williams earned his second Oscar nomination for the documentary "Life, Animated."

"Life, Animated" follows Owen Suskind, a young man with autism whose family learned to communicate with him through Disney animated films. To tell Suskind's story, the movie weaves animated sequences into a more traditional documentary format.

"This is a big moment for outsiders. People like Owen who are on the spectrum feel left behind," Williams said. "I myself feel like outsider. That's why I wanted to make this film."

His second nomination for Hollywood's highest honor, he said, reaffirmed his dedication to the field.

"The first time, you wonder, maybe you were lucky, maybe it was hard work," he said. "This kind of solidifies that it was the hard work."

Since his Oscar win in 2010, Williams said he still struggles as a black filmmaker working in a field that has seldom recognized directors who look like him. With Tuesday announcements, "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins became just the fourth black filmmaker nominated for best director. But the list of nominations offered some encouraging signs: In the documentary feature category, four of the five nominated films were helmed by black directors, Williams among them.

Williams is on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' board of governors for its documentary branch, and said he is proud of the documentary community.

"I am really excited to be a part of a community that embraces diversity," he said. "We as the documentary branch led the way in diversity, and it's evident in the nominations."

At the 2010 Academy Awards Ceremony, Williams was noticed for more than winning a statue. His acceptance speech was interrupted by his co-recipient of the award Elinor Burkett, a producer who had been removed from the film and with whom Williams had had a falling out.

For "Life, Animated," Williams said his producer Julie Goldman "is probably one of the best in the field." If his movie wins this time, he said he expects everything will go smoothly.

Andrew Doerfler may be reached at adoerfler@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @adoerfler or on Facebook.

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