The Cave and For Sama have been nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars.

Two gritty documentaries covering the war in Syria were announced as Academy Awards nominees - better known as the Oscars - on Monday, the latest accolade for the Syrian film-makers. For Sama and The Cave were named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - widely considered the film industry's biggest prize - as nominees for the Oscars' "Best Documentary" award.The Cave follows an all-women medical team working at an underground hospital in Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, as the opposition enclave is subject to continuous bombardment by regime forces.Directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, For Sama is the most dominated documentary in BAFTA history, picking up 58 awards in less than a year.The film portrays Kataeb's struggles through pregnancy and motherhood in East Aleppo, which was under siege by the Syrian regime and also subject to repeated bombing."We are so delighted and honoured to be nominated for an Oscar, alongside these incredible films and filmmakers. It is a moment that we had never imagined on a journey spanning nine-years from near death to new life," Al-Kateab and Watts responded to the nomination, according to Channel 4.It is hoped that both films will shine a light on the Syria war, which broke out in 2011 after regime forces suppressed peaceful protests sparking an armed revolt against Bashar Al-Assad.