Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley’s surprising  exploration of her parentage has been named as one of the films being considered for the best documentary Academy Award.

Polley knitted many different tales about her late mother into the film “Stories We Tell” -in which she reveals how she learned the man who is her dad – wasn’t her biological father.

“Stories We Tell” has also been named best non-fiction/documentary film of the year  by the New York Film Critics Circle.

The Academy’s full list of contenders also includes documentaries about Lance Armstrong, the Russian punk-protest band Pussy Riot, the Egyptian revolution and late photojournalist Tim Hetherington. 

Here’s the list:

– 20 Feet From Stardom
– The Act of Killing
– The Armstrong Lie
– Blackfish
– The Crash Reel
– Cutie and the Boxer
– Dirty Wars
– First Cousin Once Removed
– God Loves Uganda
– Life According to Sam
– Pussy Riot: A Punk’s Prayer
– The Square
– Stories We Tell
– Tim’s Vermeer
– Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington

The Academy’s documentary branch members will now reduce the list to a final five nominees, to be announced on January 16th.

The Academy Awards take place in Hollywood on March 2 nd.