"Tupac: Resurrection" Is Nominated for an Oscar

On January 25, 2005, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 77th Academy Awards. In the documentary category, Tupac: Resurrection was on the list, with director Lauren Lazin and producer Karolyn Ali nominated. The competition consisted of Born into Brothels, Super Size Me, The Story of the Weeping Camel and Twist of Faith.

Small Budget, Expensive Music Rights

Variety had already featured the film in its awards coverage in December 2004. There, Lazin said that the budget had been small, with music rights being the largest expense. She shot her own footage on Super-16 film, along with existing material from Betacam, VHS and digital video. As a particularly striking scene, Variety highlighted a moment in which Tupac says he had anticipated his early death and therefore recorded three songs a day so that an album would be ready if something happened to him.

The Night of the Ceremony

At the ceremony on February 27, 2005, the Oscar went to Born into Brothels by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski. Afeni Shakur’s team also used the Oscar season for the foundation: On such occasions, they always had brochures for the foundation’s planned art center with them, her attorney Dina LaPolt recalled in Rolling Stone in 2016. More honors: Awards.