Selena y Los Dinos, the acclaimed 2025 documentary about Selena Quintanilla and her family band, premiered at Sundance, won a Special Jury Award, failed to make the Oscar Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature for the 98th Academy Awards (to be held in March of 2026.)

Here are the final Fifteen chosen. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“The Alabama Solution”
“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
“Coexistence, My Ass!”
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Cover-Up”
“Cutting through Rocks”
“Folktales”
“Holding Liat”
“Mr. Nobody against Putin”
“Mistress Dispeller”
“My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“Seeds”
“2000 Meters to Andriivka”
“Yanuni”

It’s omission is odd and further perplexing as its success at Sundance of January 2025, winning the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling, surely made it a strong contender for Academy consideration. Potentially for the 2026 Oscars (98th Academy Awards), as its eligibility window aligns with the 2025 festival circuit and Netflix release.

Key Details:
Premiere & Awards: The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, winning the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling.
Acquisition: Netflix acquired distribution rights in early 2025.
Release: It was released on Netflix in November 2025.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Tomatometer (Critics) & 92% Popcornmeter (Audience).

Metacritic: 65 Metascore (Generally Favorable) from critics & 8.0 User Score.

IMDb: Strong user scores, with reviewers loving the personal footage. 

Praise for Intimacy: Reviewers loved the “raw,” “comprehensive,” and “illuminating” look into Selena’s life through never-before-seen family archives, highlighting her journey and spirit.

Familiar Story, Fresh Perspective: While covering familiar ground from her tragic story, the film was praised for showing the “real” Selena beyond the legend, notes IndieWire and Rotten Tomatoes.