With the rise of cheap digital video, some might claim that we're in a Golden Age of documentaries, except for the fact that most documentary filmmakers aren't really filmmakers. They copy a basic template over and over again, assembling footage rather than making a movie. Of course, some of this may qualify as great journalism: the 2003 film Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, for example, or last year's No End in Sight. But very few understand how to combine filmmaking and reporting, how to make the story speak on a personal level. For my money, then, Errol Morris is the greatest living documentary filmmaker. As his reputation has risen -- he went from a guy who couldn't get arrested at the Oscars to a guy who actually won one -- his films have become more like events, like a story you can't possibly miss from a reporter you know and trust. (He has become like a Walter Cronkite or an Edward R. Murrow of the documentary set.)

Morris' Standard Operating Procedure screened this week at the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival, where Morris received the festival's Persistence of Vision award. The new film can be seen as the third in a trilogy of Morris' war films, with Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) taking on World War II and The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003) examining Vietnam. This one stumbles right into the current war in Iraq, and stares right into the face of the Abu Ghraib prison controversy. Of course, this story was extensively covered on the TV news and people have already seen the gruesome photographs, but Morris slows down the story a bit, taking a more careful look after the fact (many of his interview subjects have finished serving their jail time).

More award nominations have been announced! Are you tired of this yet? I must have been hibernating for part of my life because I didn't realize that there were 700 -- I'm over exaggerating just a little -- award ceremonies each year. The members of the American Society of Cinematographers have tallied their votes and the nominees are in.

• Emmanuel Lubezki got a nod for Children of Men. This is only his second nomination with ASC. I say 'only' because he has an incredible body of work. Children of Men was a gorgeous film in many aspects and the rest of his work can be summed up in that same statement -- Y Tu Mamá También, The New World as well as even more extravagant films such as The Cat in the Hat and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

• Dick Pope is receiving his first ASC nomination for The Illusionist. Pope is also responsible for Vera Drake -- an exceptional film.

• Robert Richardson is in the running for The Good Shepherd. This is his eighth ASC nomination. Dare I say it again? Eighth nomination. Rightfully earned though, he's responsible for so many great films since the 80s: Platoon, JFK,Casino and Kill Bill.

• Vilmos Zsigmond has received his third nom for The Black Dahlia. Zsigmond is the veteran in comparison to the rest. His body of work began in the 50s and includes The Deer Hunter and Melinda and Melinda.

• Finally, Dean Semler for Apocalypto. This is nomination number two and makes me curious to actually see this film.

Repeat nominations seem to be the recurring theme with the ASC. Only one nominee is a new-timer to the honoree pool. You can tell who has my vote (Lubezki) but ultimately; I have no say in the matter.