This year, the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalists Association join together for the inaugural Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. I am honored to be a part of the organizations behind this special event, and I am excited to present the very first ever nominees in 13 competition categories plus one honorary category. Congratulations to the three leading films/series — 13th, Gleason and OJ: Made in America — each represented in five of the categories, as well as all of the other nonfiction titles we’re recognizing. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in NYC on November 3, 2016.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- 13th (Netflix/Kandoo Films)
- 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America (ESPN/Laylow Films)
- Cameraperson (Janus Films/Fork Films/Big Mouth Productions)
- Fire at Sea (Kino Lorber/Stemal Entertainment/21 Unofilm/Cinecittà Luce/Rai Cinema/Les Films d’Ici/Arte France Cinéma)
- Gleason (Open Road/Amazon/Exhibit A)
- Life, Animated (A&E IndieFilms/The Orchard/Motto Pictures/Roger Ross Williams Productions)
- Tickled (Magnolia/A Ticklish Tale/Fumes Production/Horseshoe Films)
- Tower (Kino Lorber/ITVS/Meredith Vieira Productions/GTS Films/Diana DiMenna Film)
- Weiner (Sundance Selects/Motto Pictures/Edgeline Films)
- The Witness (FilmRise/Five More Minutes Productions)
BEST DIRECTION OF A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- Ezra Edelman — 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America (ESPN/Laylow Films)
- Ron Howard — The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years (Hulu/Imagine Entertainment/Apple Corps)
- Kirsten Johnson — Cameraperson (Janus Films/Fork Films/Big Mouth Productions)
- Keith Maitland — Tower (Kino Lorber/ITVS/Meredith Vieira Productions/GTS Films/Diana DiMenna Film)
- Clay Tweel — Gleason (Open Road/Amazon/Exhibit A)
- Roger Ross Williams — Life, Animated (A&E IndieFilms/The Orchard/Motto Pictures/Roger Ross Williams Productions)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- Otto Bell — The Eagle Huntress (Sony Pictures Classics/Kissaki Films/Stacey Reiss Productions)
- David Farrier and Dylan Reeve — Tickled (Magnolia/A Ticklish Tale/Fumes Production/Horseshoe Films)
- Adam Irving — Off the Rails (The Film Collaborative/Zipper Bros Films)
- Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg — Weiner (Sundance Selects/Motto Pictures/Edgeline Films)
- James D. Solomon — The Witness (FilmRise/Five More Minutes Productions)
- Nanfu Wang — Hooligan Sparrow (The Film Collaborative/Little Horse Crossing the River)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
- 13th (Netflix/Kandoo Films)
- 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America (ESPN/Laylow Films)
- Audrie & Daisy (Netflix/Actual Films)
- Newtown (Abramorama/Mile 22/Independent Television Service)
- Weiner (Sundance Selects/Motto Pictures/Edgeline Films)
- Zero Days (Magnolia/Jigsaw Productions/Participant Media)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (TV/STREAMING)
- 13th (Netflix/Kandoo Films)
- 30 For 30: Fantastic Lies (ESPN)
- Amanda Knox (Netflix/Plus Pictures)
- Audrie & Daisy (Netflix/Actual Films)
- Before the Flood (National Geographic/Appian Way/Insurgent Docs/RatPac Documentary Films)
- Holy Hell (CNN/WRA Productions)
- Into the Inferno (Netflix/Herzog-Film/Matter of Fact Media/Spring Films)
- Jim: The James Foley Story (HBO/Kunhardt Films)
- Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (HBO/Film Manufacturers/World of Wonder Productions)
- Rats (Discovery Channel/Dakota Group/Submarine Entertainment/Warrior Poets)
BEST DIRECTOR (TV/STREAMING)
- Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato — Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (HBO/Film Manufacturers/World of Wonder Productions)
- Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn — Amanda Knox (Netflix/Plus Pictures)
- Ava DuVernay — 13th (Netflix/Kandoo Films)
- Werner Herzog — Into the Inferno (Netflix/Herzog-Film/Matter of Fact Media/Spring Films)
- Morgan Spurlock — Rats (Discovery Channel/Dakota Group/Submarine Entertainment/Warrior Poets)
- Fisher Stevens — Before the Flood (National Geographic/Appian Way/Insurgent Docs/RatPac Documentary Films)
BEST FIRST FEATURE (TV/STREAMING)
- Jacob Bernstein and Nick Hooker — Everything is Copy (HBO/Loveless)
- Will Allen — Holy Hell (CNN/WRA Productions)
- Jessica Edwards — Mavis! (HBO/Film First Co.)
- Sophie Robinson and Lotje Sodderland — My Beautiful Broken Brain (Netflix)
- Deborah Esquenazi — Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four (Investigation Discovery/Motto Pictures/Naked Edge Films)
- Jon Greenhalgh — Team Foxcatcher (Netflix/Hattasan Productions/Madrose Productions)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
- 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America (ESPN/Laylow Films)
- The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (Showtime/Left/Right)
- The Eighties (CNN)
- The Hunt (BBC America/Silverback Films/NDR Naturfilm)
- Jackie Robinson (PBS/Florentine Films)
- Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music (PBS/Higher Ground/Show of Force)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
- 30 for 30 (ESPN)
- Frontline (PBS)
- Last Chance U (Netflix)
- Morgan Spurlock Inside Man (CNN)
- POV (PBS)
- This Is Life with Lisa Ling (CNN)
BEST SONG IN A DOCUMENTARY
- “Angel by the Wings” — The Eagle Huntress — Written by Sia — Performed by Sia (Sony Pictures Classics/Kissaki Films/Stacey Reiss Productions)
- “The Empty Chair” — Jim: The James Foley Story — Written by Sting and J. Ralph — Performed by Sting (HBO/Kunhardt Films)
- “Flicker” — Audrie & Daisy — Written by Tori Amos — Performed by Tori Amos (Netflix/Actual Films)
- “Hoping and Healing” — Gleason — Written by Mike McCready — Performed by Mike McCready (Open Road/Amazon/Exhibit A)
- “I’m Still Here” — Miss Sharon Jones! — Written by Sharon Jones — Performed by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (Cabin Creek Films/Starz Digital Media)
- “Letters to the Free” — 13th — Written by Common, Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper — Performed by Common featuring Bilal (Netflix/Kandoo Films)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
- 30 For 30: Fantastic Lies (ESPN)
- 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America (ESPN/Laylow Films)
- Dark Horse (Sony Pictures Classics)
- The Eagle Huntress (Sony Pictures Classics/Kissaki Films/Stacey Reiss Productions)
- Gleason (Open Road/Amazon/Exhibit A)
- Jackie Robinson (PBS/Florentine Films)
- Keepers of the Game (Tribeca Digital Studios/Flatbush Pictures)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
- The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years (Hulu/Imagine Entertainment/Apple Corps)
- Gimme Danger (Magnolia/Amazon)
- Miss Sharon Jones! (Cabin Creek Films/Starz Digital Media)
- The Music of Strangers (Participant Media/Tremolo Productions)
- Presenting Princess Shaw (Magnolia)
- We Are X (Drafthouse Films)
MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY
- Cameraperson (Janus Films/Fork Films/Big Mouth Productions)
- Kate Plays Christine (Grasshopper Film/4th Row Films/Faliro House Productions/Prewar Cinema Productions)
- Life, Animated (A&E IndieFilms/The Orchard/Motto Pictures/Roger Ross Williams Productions)
- Nuts! (Amazon/mTuckman Media/Cartuna/Gland Power Films)
- Tower (Kino Lorber/ITVS/Meredith Vieira Productions/GTS Films/Diana DiMenna Film
- Under The Sun (Icarus Films/Vertov Studio/Saxonia Entertainment/Hypermarket Film)
MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECT OF A DOCUMENTARY (NO WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN)
- Danny Fields — Danny Says (Magnolia/Outre Films)
- Iggy Pop — Gimme Danger (Magnolia/Amazon)
- Kirsten Johnson — Cameraperson (Janus Films/Fork Films/Big Mouth Productions)
- Owen Suskind — Life, Animated (A&E IndieFilms/The Orchard/Motto Pictures/Roger Ross Williams Productions)
- Sharon Jones — Miss Sharon Jones! (Cabin Creek Films/Starz Digital Media)
- Steve Gleason — Gleason (Open Road/Amazon/Exhibit A)
- Theo Padnos — Theo Who Lived (Zeitgeist Films)