On January 24 , 2012 , Cullman and Marshall Curry were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the film '' If a Tree Falls : A Story of the Earth Liberation Front '' . At the 84th Academy Awards , their film lost to '' Undefeated '' . In 2012 , Cullman and Benjamin Rosen made '' Black Cherokee '' , a short subject , premiering in November 2012 as part of DOC NYC , a documentary film festival
84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
Sam Cullman