2019 Nonfics Poll Submissions

Here is how everybody voted.

Apollo 11
Neon

Below are the submitted best-of lists that contributed to our 2019 end-of-year poll (* = still unreleased in the U.S.; ** = released in the U.S. last year).

Christopher Campbell
@thefilmcynic

Founding Editor, Nonfics
Features:
1. Apollo 11
2. The Cave
3. American Factory 
4. Midnight Traveler 
5. Love, Antosha 
6. Mike Wallace is Here 
7. The Legend of Cocaine Island
8. The Amazing Johnathan Documentary 
9. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
10. For Sama
11. The Biggest Little Farm
12. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
13. The Gospel of Eureka
14. Hail Satan?
15. Black Mother
16. One Child Nation
17. Maiden
18. Sea of Shadows
19. Shooting the Mafia
20. The Kingmaker
21. Screwball
22. 63 Up
23. What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali
24. Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
25. Midnight Family
26. I Love You, Now Die
27. Rodman: For Better or Worse
28. Knock Down the House
29. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
30. David Crosby: Remember My Name
Shorts:
1. In the Absence
2. Sam and the Plant Next Door
3. Fire in Paradise
4. Period. End of Sentence.
5. The Unconditional
6. The Chapel at the Border
7. Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if You’re a Girl)
8. The Nightcrawlers
9. Lowland Kids
10. The Ghosts of Sugar Land
Unreleased:
1. Gaza*
2. Stieg Larsson: The Man Who Played with Fire*

Valerie Ettenhofer
@aandeandval

Critic, Nonfics and Film School Rejects
1. For Sama
2. Emanuel
3. Leaving Neverland
4. One Child Nation
5. At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
6. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
7. Rewind*
8. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
9. Knock Down the House
10. Roll Red Roll

Jordan M. Smith
@Rectangular_Eye
Critic, Nonfics
1. American Factory
2. One Child Nation
3. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
4. Black Mother
5. (tie) The Cave
For Sama
7. Country Music
8. Apollo 11
9. The Show About The Show: Season 2
10. Los Reyes
11. What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?

Edwin Arnaudin
@EdwinArnaudin
Critic, Asheville Movies
1. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
2. Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins
3. Amazing Grace**
4. Apollo 11
5. Ask Dr. Ruth
6. David Crosby: Remember My Name
7. One Child Nation
8. Hail Satan?
9. Love, Antosha
10. Where’s My Roy Cohn?

Deanna Barton
Patron of Nonfics
1. Echo in the Canyon – “Although I should’ve chosen a documentary about more important issues, this was my favorite, mostly because I lived in Hollywood in the late ’60s and early ’70s… So for sentimental reasons and the fond memories it brought back to me.”
2. Apollo 11 – “More memories while still living in Hollywood. I was so glad to be alive during this very important major event!”
3. For Sama
4. One Child Nation
5. The Biggest Little Farm

Adam Benzine
@adambenzine
Canadian Bureau Chief, C21 Media
Director, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
1. (tie) Apollo 11
Colectiv*
3. Midnight Family
4. The Cave
5. American Factory
6. Knock Down The House
7. I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter
(Disclaimer: Still yet to see Honeyland, For Sama, One Child Nation, The Biggest Little Farm, Midnight Traveler, and Aquarela. So I’ll cap it at seven for now!)

Colin Biggs
@wordsbycbiggs
Critic, CutPrintFilm
1. David Crosby: Remember My Name
2. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
3. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
4. The Biggest Little Farm
5. Apollo 11
6. The Black Godfather
7. One Child Nation
8. Amazing Grace**

Joshua Brunsting
Critic, The CriterionCast
1. The Image Book
2. Black Mother
3. What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire?
4. Varda By Agnès
5. Where The Pavement Ends*
6. The Hidden City*
7. The Eyes of Orson Welles
8. American Factory
9. The Hottest August
10. Those That, At A Distance, Resemble Another*
11. The Cordillera of Dreams*

Rob Christopher
Director/Producer, Roy’s World: Barry Gifford’s Chicago
Among Wolves
Apollo 11
Black Mother
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
Dark Money
It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story
Minding the Gap**

Mario Diaz
Director, Brothers in Exile (30 for 30)
Showrunner, Kids Behind Bars, Death Row Chronicles

1. Honeyland
2. Hail Satan!
3. For Sama
4. Leaving Neverland
5. The Biggest Little Farm
6. American Factory
7. Sea of Shadows
8. Love, Antosha
9. Midnight Family
10. The Edge of Democracy
Honorable Mentions:
Apollo 11
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Ice On Fire
The Kingmaker
Maiden
The Proposal
The Serengeti Rules
Wrestle

Edward Douglas
@EDouglasWW
Critic, The Weekend Warrior, The Beat
1. The Biggest Little Farm
2. Apollo 11
3. The Cave
4. Wrestle
5. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
6. Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love
7. One Child Nation
8. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
9. 63 Up
10. Varda by Agnès

Scott Feinberg
@ScottFeinberg
Awards Columnist, The Hollywood Reporter
1. Apollo 11
2. American Factory
3. The Biggest Little Farm
4. Diego Maradona
5. The Kingmaker
6. Sea of Shadows
7. Knock Down the House
8. The Cave
9. Maiden
10. 5B

John Lynn Fernandez
@juandlago
Critic, International Cinephile Society
1. Honeyland
2. American Factory
3. Apollo 11
4. Meeting Gorbachev
5. Black Mother

Cynthia Fuchs
Critic, PopMatters
1. One Child Nation
2. Honeyland
3. No Data Plan
4. Apollo 11
5. For Sama
6. Hottest August
7. Midnight Traveler
8. The Edge of Democracy
9. Diego Maradona
10. Midnight Family

Kenji Fujishima 
@kenjfuj
Critic, TheaterMania
1. The Image Book
2. Black Mother
3. Aquarela
4. Varda by Agnès

Arlin Golden
@cerealburrito

Critic, Film Inquiry
1. Honeyland
2. One Child Nation
3. Midnight Traveler
4. Jawline
5. Easter Snap
6. Midnight Family
7. 17 Blocks
8. Well Groomed
9. The Hottest August
10. Knock Down the House
Unreleased:
Pahokee*

Ethan Gordon
Critic, InSession Film, Midline Network
1. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
2. Knock Down the House
3. Roll Red Roll
4. Love, Antosha
5. Apollo 11
6. Hail Satan?
7. American Dharma
8. Amazing Grace**
9. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
10. David Crosby: Remember My Name

Tim Grierson
@TimGrierson
Critic, Screen International
1. Leaving Neverland
2. The Hottest August
3. Varda by Agnès
4. American Factory
5. Black Mother
6. For Sama
7. Honeyland
8. What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
9. Jawline
10. The Competition

John Hanlon
@John_Hanlon
Critic, AM 870 The Answer
1. The Cave
2. The Great Hack
3. American Factory
4. They Shall Not Grow Old**
5. Apollo 11
6. I Love you, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
7. Honeyland
8. The Biggest Little Farm
9. Love, Antosha
10. Sea of Shadows

Susan Kamyab
@thischixflix
Critic, ICTN Television
1. Leaving Neverland
2. Love, Antosha
3. Knock Down the House
4. Midnight Traveler
5. One Child Nation
6. The Biggest Little Farm
7. American Factory
8. The Cave
9. Running with Beto
10. Anthropocene: The Human Epoch

Paul Landriau
@PaulLandriau
President, AQCC / QFCA (Quebec Film Critic Association)
1. For Sama – “I truly hope this ends up high on the global list.”
2. Leaving Neverland – “The event of the year, no other film had as much societal impact.”
3. Acadiana* – “This is a short that played in many festivals, including in the U.S. and it is astonishing. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.”
4. (tie) Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Fyre Fraud – “A cheat, but you have to think of both releases as the incredible story they told is but one aspect that makes you reflect on our times. The streaming battle to get the first one out was also a stepping stone of the year, an event in itself, and I feel like this aggressive strategy won’t go away.”
5. Delphine et Carole, insoumuses* – “I believe this played in many festivals, not sure about U.S. A very relevant and touching archival montage.”
6. Memory: The Origins of Alien
7. Framing John Delorean
8. I Love You Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter
9. Who Let the Dogs Out – “Quite literally the underdog of the year.”
10. Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator

Joanna Langfield
@Joannalangfield
Critic, The Movie Minute
1. Honeyland
2. Apollo 11
3. American Factory
4. One Child Nation
5. For Sama
6. Tell Me Who I Am
7. Surviving R. Kelly
8. Leaving Neverland
9. Amazing Grace**
10. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

Craig D. Lindsey
Critic, Nashville Scene
1. Amazing Grace**
2. The Black Godfather
3. They Shall Not Grow Old**
4. Mike Wallace is Here
5. Varda by Agnès
6. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
7. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
8. Apollo 11
9. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
10. David Crosby: Remember My Name

Matthew Lucas
@matthew_lucas
Critic, The Lexington Dispatch and From the Front Row
1. Black Mother
2. Chinese Portrait
3. The Gospel of Eureka
4. For Sama
5. Varda by Agnès
6. Island of the Hungry Ghosts
7. Apollo 11
8. Honeyland
9. American Factory
10. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Noel Manning II
@noeltmanning
Critic, WGWG
1. They Shall Not Grow Old
2. Apollo 11
3. The Biggest Little Farm
4. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of my Voice
5. American Factory
6. Honeyland
7. Maiden
8. One Child Nation
9. Aquarela
10. Sea of Shadows
11. The Cave

Mike McGranaghan
@AisleSeat
Critic, The Aisle Seat
1. Hail Satan?
2. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
3. One Child Nation
4. David Crosby: Remember My Name
5. For the Birds
6. American Factory
7. Apollo 11
8. The Great Hack
9. The Biggest Little Farm
10. Maiden

Chris Miksanek
@ChrisMiksanek
Critic, The Med City Movie Guy
1. American Factory
2. They Shall Not Grow Old**
3. Apollo 11
4. Richard Jewell
5. Unplanned
6. Harriet

Patrick Mullen
@cinemablogrpher
Critic, POV Magazine
1. One Child Nation
2. For Sama
3. American Factory
4. Letter to the Editor
5. Honeyland
6. Apollo 11
7. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
8. The Proposal
9. Don’t Be Nice
10. Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
Unreleased:
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

Jenny Nulf
@jennyleighx33

Director of Programming, Austin Asian American Film Festival
1. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
2. Chinese Portrait
3. One Child Nation
4. Apollo 11
5. Origin Story
6. Jaddoland*
7. Nailed It*
8. Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
9. American Factory
10. Midnight Traveler

Milan Paurich
@milanpaurich
Critic, WMXY-FM (Mix 98.9)
1. Leaving Neverland
2. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
3. American Factory
4. The Kingmaker
5. The Edge of Democracy
6. Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation
7. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
8. One Child Nation
9. Western Stars
10. Honeyland

Jessica Peña
@the_cinemabliss
Critic, Jumpcut Online
1. Hail Satan?
2. One Child Nation
3. Knock Down the House
4. American Factory
5. Apollo 11
6. For Sama
7. The Biggest Little Farm
8. Honeyland
9. At the Heart of Gold: Inside the U.S. Gymnastics Scandal
10. Ask Dr. Ruth

Ruben Peralta Rigaud
@cocalecas
Critic, Cocalecas
Amazing Grace**
American Factory
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Apollo 11
The Biggest Little Farm
The Cave
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
David Crosby: Remember My Name
The Edge of Democracy
The Elephant Queen
For Sama
The Great Hack
Hail Satan?
Honeyland
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
The Kingmaker
Knock Down the House
Leaving Neverland
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Love, Antosha
Maiden
Midnight Traveler
One Child Nation
Pavarotti
Running with Beto
Sea of Shadows
They Shall Not Grow Old**
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

Marshall Shaffer
@media_marshall

Critic, Marshall and the Movies
1. American Factory
2. Los Reyes
3. Varda by Agnès
4. Jawline
5. The Gospel of Eureka
6. American Dharma
7. What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
8. Hail Satan?
9. Apollo 11
10. The Kingmaker

Stephen Silver
@StephenSilver
Critic, Splice Today

1. Apollo 11
2. The Kingmaker
3. Love, Antosha
4. City of Joel*
5. David Crosby: Remember My Name
6. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
7. The Apollo
8. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
9. Tell Me Who I Am
10. Diego Maradona
11. Black Mother
12. The Human Factor
13. Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles
14. Mike Wallace is Here
15. Varda by Agnès
16. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
17. Screwball
18. American Factory
19. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
20. Amazing Grace**

Shane Slater
@filmactually
Critic, AwardsCircuit.com
1. Tell Me Who I Am
2. The Edge of Democracy
3. American Factory
4. The Biggest Little Farm
5. The Cave
6. For Sama
7. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
8. Apollo 11
9. Midnight Family
10. Black Mother

Danielle Solzman
@DanielleSATM
Critic, Solzy at the Movies
1. Apollo 11
2. Sea of Shadows
3. The River and The Wall
4. Who Will Write Our History
5. Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins
6. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
7. American Factory
8. Prosecuting Evil
9. One Child Nation
10. Mike Wallace is Here

Basil Tsiokos
@1basil1
Director of Programming, DOC NYC and Nantucket Film Festival
Programming Associate, Sundance Film Festival
American Factory
Apollo 11
The Biggest Little Farm
For Sama
Hail Satan?
Honeyland
Los Reyes
Maiden
Midnight Family
One Child Nation

Sammi Turano
@TVG_Sammi
Critic, TV Grapevine
1. We Are Columbine
2. The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story
3. Apollo 11
4. The Biggest Little Farm
5. American Factory
6. Period. End of Sentence.
7. Honeyland
8. They Shall Grow Old**
9. The Kingmaker
10. One Child Nation

Aaron White
@FeelinFilmAaron
Critic, Feelin’ Film
1. For Sama
2. Apollo 11
3. Sea of Shadows
4. Love, Antosha
5. Lynch: A History
6. Maiden
7. American Factory
8. Roll Red Roll
9. Cold Case Hammarskjöld
10. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

(Editor in Chief)

Christopher Campbell is the founding editor of Nonfics.