Documentary filmmaking had its moment in the spotlight Sunday night as the Critics Choice Association celebrated the year’s outstanding nonfiction achievements at the 11th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, held at New York City’s Edison Ballroom.
Leading the night’s winners was A24’s You Can See Everything, which proved to be the evening’s undisputed champion, collecting all five of its nominations, including the coveted award for Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the film also earned honors for Best Director, Best Cinematography for David Bolen, Best Editing for Adam Locke-Norton and Best Score for Ari Balouzian.
The five-award sweep made You Can See Everything the night’s biggest winner, recognizing the creative contributions behind a documentary that resonated across multiple aspects of filmmaking.
Neon’s Once Upon a Time in Harlem was another major winner, taking home three awards: Best First Documentary Feature for director David Greaves, Best Archival Documentary and Best Historical Documentary. The film’s recognition across three categories underscored the continuing power of archival storytelling and the importance of preserving and revisiting cultural history.
The remaining awards reflected the breadth of subjects and approaches represented in this year’s documentary field. The History of Concrete earned Best Narration for writer and performer John Wilson, while Musk won Best Biographical Documentary. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert claimed Best Music Documentary, and NAZA was named Best Political Documentary.
Other winners included Nuisance Bear for Best Science/Nature Documentary and National Geographic Documentary Films’ Everest: The Other Side for Best Sports Documentary. In the true crime category, Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare and Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of Alaska shared the award in a tie.
Netflix also picked up Best Short Documentary for The Baddest Speechwriter of All, while National Geographic’s Lion won Best Limited Documentary Series. ESPN’s long-running 30 for 30 franchise was recognized as Best Ongoing Documentary Series.
Beyond the competitive awards, the evening celebrated two filmmakers whose contributions have helped shape the nonfiction landscape. Ron Howard received the Critics Choice Impact Award, presented by Frank Oz. The honor recognizes filmmakers whose work, influence and commitment to nonfiction storytelling have made a significant and lasting impact on the documentary form.
Howard, whose career spans directing, producing and acting, was recognized for his influence on the genre and his role in expanding the reach of documentary storytelling.
Visionary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim received the CCA’s Pennebaker Award, presented by Chris Hegedus, the widow and longtime collaborator of legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker. Formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, the honor was renamed in tribute to Pennebaker and recognizes filmmakers whose careers have made a profound and lasting contribution to documentary filmmaking.
Television host and producer Ross Mathews served as master of ceremonies for the evening, which brought together an impressive cross-section of the entertainment and documentary communities. Among the presenters and attendees were Joe Berlinger, Jimmy Chin, Michael Cyril Creighton (Only Murders in the Building), Liz Garbus, Chris Hegedus, Ron Howard, Troy Iwata (The Daily Show), Rachel Keller (Cupertino), Aimé Donna Kelly (Law & Order: SVU), Ross McElwee, Jehane Noujaim, Lance Oppenheim, Frank Oz, Octavia Spencer, Mark Tallman (Your Friends & Neighbors) and Chai Vasarhelyi, among others.
“This year’s winners reflect the extraordinary creativity, ambition, and innovation shaping documentary filmmaking today,” said Christopher Campbell, Vice President of Documentary at the Critics Choice Association. He noted that this year’s nominees demonstrated the limitless possibilities of nonfiction storytelling, from innovative approaches that attract new audiences to films tackling pressing political and social issues and filmmakers returning to familiar stories with fresh perspectives.
The annual ceremony is produced by Bob Bain of Bob Bain Productions, with National Geographic Documentary Films and Netflix serving as Catalyst Sponsors and Milagro Tequila as an event sponsor.
With its mix of established filmmaking voices, emerging documentarians and a wide-ranging collection of subjects, this year’s ceremony offered a reminder of just how expansive the documentary landscape has become — and how compelling real-life stories can be when placed in the hands of imaginative filmmakers.
Winners of the 11th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards
Best Documentary Feature
You Can See Everything (A24)
Best Director
Nathan Fielder & Lance Oppenheim – You Can See Everything (A24)
Best First Documentary Feature
David Greaves – Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)
Best Cinematography
David Bolen – You Can See Everything (A24)
Best Editing
Adam Locke-Norton – You Can See Everything (A24)
Best Narration
The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures) – Written and Performed by John Wilson
Best Score
Ari Balouzian – You Can See Everything (A24)
Best Music Documentary
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)
Best Political Documentary
NAZA (Neon)
Best Historical Documentary
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)
Best Biographical Documentary
Musk (Bleecker Street)
Best Archival Documentary
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)
Best Science/Nature Documentary
Nuisance Bear (Mubi)
Best Sports Documentary
Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Best True Crime Documentary (Tie)
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (Netflix)
Lost Women of Alaska (Investigation Discovery)
Best Short Documentary
The Baddest Speechwriter of All (Netflix)
Best Limited Documentary Series
Lion (National Geographic)
Best Ongoing Documentary Series
30 for 30 (ESPN)
