It was like The Source Awards in the Kodak Theatre last night (except not). As you may have heard, last night's predictability did feature one wrinkle: the odd acceptance moment between Roger Ross Williams, winner for Best Documentary Short and the film's producer, Elinor Burkett. (Check out the video if you haven't seen it).
Salon was intrepid enough to snag interviews with both parties following the weirdness.
People are already saying you "pulled a Kanye." What happened?
BURKETT: What happened was the director and I had a bad difference over the direction of the film that resulted in a lawsuit that has settled amicably out of court. But there have been all these events around the Oscars, and I wasn't invited to any of them. And he's not speaking to me. So we weren't even able to discuss ahead of the time who would be the one person allowed to speak if we won. And then, as I'm sure you saw, when we won, he raced up there to accept the award. And his mother took her cane and blocked me. So I couldn't get up there very fast.
Williams' take
She claims she found the movie's story, that she brought it to you.
WILLIAMS: No, not at all. The truth is that she saw the band perform [in Zimbabwe], and told me about that, and then I opened up a dialogue with the [King George VI School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities] school and went on my own – which you would've heard about in my speech — and spent $6,000 going to Africa shooting myself. And when people expressed interest in the film, I asked her to come on board. And then I regretted that decision. Then she sued.