Flee

This powerful film combines elements of the documentary and animation forms in relating the true story of an Afghan refugee.

A little peek inside the inner workings of a regional film critics group, in this case the Indiana Film Journalists Association:

(Granted, this may be a tremendous bore to some of you, but for the rest, here goes.)

When it came time to consider “Flee,” the Danish film about a man who fled his native Afghanistan as a boy, there was much debate about where it “belonged” when considering awards. Was it a documentary? An animated film? A based-on-true foreign language drama?

Unlike the Oscars, there’s a strong motivation within critics to spread their awards around to the most deserving nominee in each category, rather than riding the wave of many awards going to one universally beloved film. “Flee” had broad support, but since it was unlikely to win in multiple categories, supporters thought about where it had the strongest chance to come out on top.

It ended up winning Best Animated Film, which I think an imperfect fit. As I look at the (voluminous) list of awards it’s picked up so far, “Flee” has won about equal times in the documentary and animation categories — sometimes both.

Perhaps it’s that rare film that truly defies categorization and labels.