He Named Me Malala was put on the short list for Best Documentary Feature in the 88th Academy Awards.
 Roger Ebert, who had declared it to be the best 1994 movie of any kind, looked into its failure to receive a nomination: "We learned, through very reliable sources, that the members of the committee had a system
" Among other rule changes taking effect in 2013, the Academy began requiring a documentary to have been reviewed by either The New York Times or Los Angeles Times, and be commercially released for at least one week in both of those cities

