According to Business Insider and International Business Times, Netflix has nabbed its first Academy Award nomination for its documentary, The Square.
The online streaming service picked up the documentary for distribution in November on the festival circuit after it announced it was going to make a bigger investment in the movie business.
The Square takes viewers inside the Egyptian revolution and demonstrates how a group of revolutionaries used a combination of social media and videos to liberate their country. Directed by Jehane Noujaim, it racked up numerous awards at the Sundance Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival last year before Netflix acquired the streaming rights.
Netflix released the documentary through its streaming service on January 17, 2014.
The streaming service has become a considerable player in Hollywood, making television history last year when it became the first non-TV network to win an Emmy award for its political drama House of Cards. House of Cards also won its first Golden Globe Award with Robin Wright taking home “Best Actress in a TV Drama”, and has scored a Screen Actors Guild nomination as well for Kevin Spacey’s lead role.
The Square will be vying for the Oscar with other documentary features such as The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, and 20 Feet from Stardom. The Academy Awards will be aired March 2.
