The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner hasn’t had a public screening yet, but it’s already up for an Oscar for best short documentary. Talk about under the radar.

The film followed the former Washington governor as he rallied on behalf of the 2008 Death With Dignity Act —a bill legalizing doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in Washington. Gardner has suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 1995, and though the disease isn’t fatal, it’s bad enough to drive him to defend death, he says. “I can’t see where anybody benefits by my hanging around,” he told the New York Times in 2007. Heavy stuff, to be sure, but Denver-based director Daniel Junge has a way with politically charged material, having won awards for his documentaries on Africa’s first female president (Iron Ladies of Liberia) and the murder of an American Catholic nun in the Brazilian Amazon (They Killed Sister Dorothy).

The Seattle Times reports that The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (shot entirely in Western Washington) is set to screen in New York this month, with more screenings in the Pacific Northwest to follow. HBO picked up the distribution rights to the film, so expect it to air sooner rather than later, thanks to the Oscar buzz.

Want to know who else was nominated for an Academy Award? Click here for the complete list. The Oscars air March 7 at 5pm PT. Check back soon for our guide to beating your co-workers in the annual Oscar pool.