Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything is barred from the DGA’s top prize after the guild rules it a documentary. The film remains in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars, but its awards campaign just lost its biggest bellwether.
You Can See Everything has been officially ruled ineligible for the Directors Guild of America’s top prize, a blow to its awards campaign despite strong early momentum. The film, co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, will now only be considered in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary category, according to a DGA representative confirmed to Variety.
The decision stems from the guild’s own rulebook, which explicitly excludes documentaries — along with re-releases and animated films, from competition in the theatrical feature film award. That category has historically aligned with the Academy Award for best director in 92 out of 98 years, making it one of the most reliable bellwethers in the awards season.
Losing that path means the film loses a key precursor advantage. Still, A24 and its strategists remain active in conversations with other major awards bodies, including BAFTA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Golden Globes, about how to classify a work that blurs the line between nonfiction and staged narrative. The film, which opened on October 16, is already drawing some of the strongest reviews of the year and has posted exceptional box office numbers during its second weekend.
Critics and audiences alike are divided on whether it should be seen as a traditional documentary, a reality TV experiment, or something entirely new. Its hybrid structure, featuring real events, reconstructed scenes, and performances by actors like Amanda Seyfried, who previously portrayed Holmes in the Hulu series The Dropout, is at the heart of the debate.
While Seyfried is being considered for an Oscar in the supporting actress category, the DGA’s classification hinges not on interpretation but on production and submission type: the film was submitted as a documentary, so it’s treated as such under the rules. The 174-minute runtime adds to the complexity. A24 has submitted You Can See Everything across 11 categories for the Oscars, including Best Picture (with Fielder, Oppenheim, Tatiana Bears, Maggie Ambrose, and Jack Davis listed as producers), director (Fielder and Oppenheim), supporting actress (Seyfried), supporting actor (Christopher Abbott), production design, cinematography, costume design, editing, makeup and hairstyling, sound, and original score.
The nominations for the 79th annual DGA Awards are set to be announced in January. Whether the film can still gain traction without the feature award remains uncertain, but the conversation isn’t over. It’s just moved to another stage.
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