Below are some of the submitted best-of lists that contributed to the 2021 end-of-year Nonfics poll (* = still unreleased in the US; ** = released in the US last year).
Christopher Campbell
@thefilmcynic
Founding Editor, Nonfics
President, Critics Choice Association – Documentary Branch
1. Flee
2. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
3. All Light, Everywhere
4. The Rescue
5. Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
6. Attica
7. The Neutral Ground
8. Val
9. The First Wave
10. No Ordinary Man
11. Some Kind of Heaven
12. Introducing, Selma Blair
13. The Real Charlie Chaplin
14. Playing with Sharks
15. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
16. In the Same Breath
17. Procession
18. Listening to Kenny G
19. Sabaya
20. Changing the Game
Valerie Ettenhofer
@aandeandval
Critic
Senior Writer, Film School Rejects
1. Bo Burnham’s Inside
2. The Beatles: Get Back
3. Introducing, Selma Blair
4. Derek DelGuadio’s In & Of Itself
5. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
6. Flee
7. The Sparks Brothers
8. The Lost Leonardo
9. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
10. Cusp
Edwin Arnaudin
@EdwinArnaudin
Critic
Writer/Editor, Asheville Movies
1. The Sparks Brothers
2. The Velvet Underground
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
5. Val
6. Jagged
7. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
8. Pharma Bro
9. The Last Archer*
10. A Glitch in the Matrix
Comment: “I heard there were some music documentaries this year.”
Austin Belzer
Critic
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Austin B. Media
1. Val
2. Homeroom
3. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
4. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
5. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
6. Pray Away
7. Citizen Ashe
8. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
9. Becoming Cousteau
10. The Sparks Brothers
11. A Glitch in the Matrix
12. My Name is Pauli Murray
13. The Lost Leonardo
14. Julia
15. Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
16. The Truffle Hunters
17. Cusp
18. Try Harder!
19. Simple as Water
20. Searchers*
Comments: “I feel like the trend of docs this year was much more celebrity-focused than political.”
Josh Brunsting
Critic
Chief Critic, The Criterion Cast
1. All Light, Everywhere
2. The History of the Atlanta Falcons
3. Sisters with Transistors
4. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
5. A Glitch in the Matrix
6. The Annotated Field Guide of Ulysses S. Grant
7. The Witches of the Orient
8. Procession
9. Flee
10. All These Sons*
11. Adrienne
12. Can’t Get You Out of My Head
13. The Lost Leonardo
14. Returning to Reims (Fragments)*
15. The Sparks Brothers
16. Searchers*
17. On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution from Here*
18. The Velvet Underground
19. North by Current*
20. Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist*
Helmut Boeijen
Critic
Editor, De DocUpdate
1. Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest*
2. The Velvet Queen
3. The Rescue
4. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
5. In the Same Breath
6. Flee
7. The Truffle Hunters
8. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
9. Seeds of Deceit*
10. Dark Rider*
11. Little Girl (Petite Fille)
12. President
13. Sabaya
14. Assassins**
15. The Return — Life After ISIS*
16. Procession
Edward Douglas
@EDouglasWW
Critic
Editor, Below the Line
1. Julia
2. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. The Rescue
5. Introducing, Selma Blair
6. Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir
7. The Sparks Brothers
8. Flee
9. Lily Topples the World
10. What Drives Us
11. Sisters with Transistors
12. The Alpinist
13. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
14. The First Wave
15. Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
16. Attica
17. Torn
18. Fauci
19. Listening to Kenny G
20. Changing the Game
Comments: “At least the top five docs here are also my top five movies of the year.”
Glenn Dunks
Critic
1. Procession
2. State Funeral
3. Bulletproof
4. Ascension
5. The Annotated Field Guide of Ulysses S. Grant
6. Flee
7. Wojnarowicz
8. The Velvet Underground
9. Listening to Kenny G
10. North by Current*
11. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
12. The Velvet Queen
13. No Ordinary Man
14. Moments Like This Will Never Last
15. Film About a Father Who
16. My Name is Gulpilil
17. Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
18. Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are)
19. Acasa, My Home
20. Fruits of Labor
Arlin Golden
@cerealburrito
Critic and Filmmaker
Co-Host, Wiseman Podcast
Distributor, Video Project
Director & Programmer, Drunken Film Fest Oakland
1. Procession
2. Life of Ivanna*
3. Jacinta
4. Young Plato
5. Ascension
6. Listening to Kenny G
7. North by Current*
8. The Last Autumn
9. Wojnarowicz
10. All Light, Everywhere
11. The Velvet Underground
12. Lily Topples the World
13. Cusp
14. 499
15. A Glitch in the Matrix
16. Radiograph of a Family*
17. President
18. The Spokeswoman (La Vocera)
19. Not Going Quietly
20. The Witches of the Orient
Comments: “Including some extras to cover any that might not qualify due to being festival- only releases so far.”
Jason Gorber
Critic
Managing Editor, THATSHELF.com
Contributing Writer, POV Magazine
1. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
2. The Velvet Underground
3. The Rescue
4. A Glitch in the Matrix
5. At the Ready
6. Hold Your Fire*
7. Attica
8. All Light, Everywhere
9. Becoming Cousteau
10. Flee
11. Listening to Kenny G
12. The Truffle Hunters
13. Three Minutes: A Lengthening*
14. Babi Yar: Context*
15. Val
16. MLK/FBI
17. The Beatles: Get Back
18. Captains of Za’atari
19. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
20. No Ordinary Man
Tim Grierson
Critic, Screen International
1. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
2. All Light, Everywhere
3. State Funeral
4. Faya Dayi
5. The Viewing Booth
6. Flee
7. Procession
8. The Velvet Underground
9. The Sparks Brothers
10. The Reason I Jump
Susan Kamyab Stephens
@thischixflix
Critic, Irving Television
1. Introducing, Selma Blair
2. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
3. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
4. Val
5. Pray Away
6. LFG
7. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
8. Mayor Pete
9. Julia
10. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
11. Framing Britney Spears
12. The Sparks Brothers
13. Jacinta
14. The Lost Leonardo
John Lynn-Fernandez
@juandlago
Critic
Writer, International Cinephile Society
1. Flee
2. Notturno
3. State Funeral
4. Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
5. Procession
6. The Metamorphosis of Birds*
7. MLK/FBI
8. Prism
9. Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream
10. Her Socialist Smile
Joey Magidson
Critic
Editor, Awards Radar
1. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
2. Clerk.
3. Once Upon a Time in Queens
4. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
5. Not Going Quietly
6. The Rescue
7. Stray
8. Pray Away
9. Val
10. Attica
11. Flee
12. Julia
13. Mayor Pete
14. Introducing, Selma Blair
15. The Day Sports Stood Still
16. Hysterical
17. The Sparks Brothers
18. Television Event
19. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
20. The Velvet Underground
Noel Manning II
@noeltmanning
Critic, Meet Me at the Movies
1. Flee
2. The Rescue
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. The Queen of Basketball
5. Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free
6. Val
7. Not Going Quietly
8. Introducing, Selma Blair
9. Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres
10. The Real Charlie Chaplin
Mike McGranaghan
Critic, The Aisle Seat
1. Procession
2. Introducing, Selma Blair
3. Four Hours at the Capitol
4. The Rescue
5. The Sparks Brothers
6. Woodstock ’99: Peace Love and Rage
7. All Light, Everywhere
8. The Slow Hustle
9. The Lost Leonardo
10. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Kimber Myers
Critic
1. Flee
2. Procession
3. Martha: A Picture Story
4. The Rescue
5. All Light, Everywhere
6. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
7. A Cop Movie
8. Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
9. The Velvet Underground
10. In the Same Breath
11. The First Wave
12. President
13. Some Kind of Heaven
14. Sabaya
15. Listening to Kenny G
Milan Paurich
@milanpaurich
Critic, WMXY-FM (Mix 98.9)
1. The Beatles: Get Back
2. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
3. The Velvet Underground
4. The Sparks Brothers
5. Bring Your Own Brigade
6. In the Same Breath
7. Faya Dayi
8. The First Wave
9. The Rescue
10. The Truffle Hunters
Daniel Schindel
@DanSchindel
Critic
Associate Editor, Hyperallergic
1. All Light, Everywhere
2. Procession
3. Bad Trip
4. Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
5. State Funeral
6. Faya Dayi
7. The Witches of the Orient
8. Crestone
9. Her Socialist Smile
10. Krabi, 2562
11. The Velvet Underground
12. The Rifleman
13. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
14. The Village Detective: a song cycle
15. Lovers of the Night
16. Listening to Kenny G
17. Cenote
18. MLK/FBI
19. What We Left Unfinished
20. Stray
Marshall Shaffer
@media_marshall
Critic
Freelance Writer, Slashfilm, The Playlist, Decider, Slant
1. The Velvet Underground
2. Flee
3. Cusp
4. The Sparks Brothers
5. All Light, Everywhere
6. Summer of Soul
7. Some Kind of Heaven
8. The Reason I Jump
9. Procession
10. A Glitch in the Matrix
Stephen Silver
@StephenSilver
Critic
Writer, Splice Today, Tilt, JTA
1. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
2. Flee
3. Listening to Kenny G
4. The Velvet Underground
5. Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street
6. We Are the Thousand*
7. Whirlybird
8. Final Account
9. The Viewing Booth
10. The First Wave
11. The Rescue
12. Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible
13. Framing Britney Spears
14. Procession
15. Adrienne
16. ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
17. DMX: Don’t Try to Understand
18. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
19. Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss
20. Finding Kendrick Johnson
Comments: “Some great releases this year, across all types of platforms. And an especially strong group of documentaries about music.”
Robert Sims
Critic
Host/producer, Lights Camera Austin, KOOP Radio 91.7 FM
1. The Sparks Brothers
2. Flee
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. The Rescue
5. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
6. MLK/FBI
7. Procession
8. Ascension
9. Queens of Pain
10. Without Getting Killed or Caught
Shane Slater
Critic
Staff Writer, Awards Radar
1. The Rescue
2. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
3. Flee
4. President
5. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
6. Julia
7. The First Wave
8. The Real Charlie Chaplin
9. Val
10. Faya Dayi
Danielle Solzman
Critic, Solzy at the Movies
1. The Beatles: Get Back
2. McCartney 3, 2, 1
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. The Neutral Ground
5. Clerk.
6. Introducing, Selma Blair
7. The Rescue
8. No Ordinary Man
9. Julia
10. LFG
11. Changing the Game
12. Four Seasons Total Documentary
13. The Human Factor
Anne Thompson
Critic
Editor at Large, IndieWire
1. Flee
2. In the Same Breath
3. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
4. Becoming Cousteau
5. The Rescue
6. Ascension
7. The Velvet Underground
8. The First Wave
9. The Sparks Brothers
10. Procession
11. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
12. Attica
13. Faya Dayi
14. Julia
15. Burning
16. Introducing, Selma Blair
17. My Name is Pauli Murray
18. Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
19. The Lost Leonardo
20. Rebel Hearts
Comments: “Great year!”
Aaron White
@FeelinFilm
Critic
Podcast Host, Feelin’ Film
1. Flee
2. The Rescue
3. Schumacher
4. 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible
5. The Jesus Music
6. The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story**
7. Untold: Malice at the Palace
8. Torn
9. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
10. The Alpinist
11. Procession
12. Tiger
13. Val
14. Tony Parker: The Final Shot
15. Jagged
16. The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station
17. Being James Bond: The Daniel Craig Story
18. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
19. Framing Britney Spears
20. DMX: Don’t Try to Understand
Shawn Wildermuth
Filmmaker
Director and Producer
1. Introducing, Selma Blair
2. LuLaRich
3. The Last Cruise
4. What Happened, Brittany Murphy?
5. Murder Among the Mormons
6. Britney vs. Spears
7. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
8. Tiger
9. WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
Alex Winter
Filmmaker
Director, Zappa
1. Attica
2. MLK/FBI
3. A Glitch in the Matrix
4. Listening to Kenny G
5. The Sparks Brothers
6. Britney vs. Spears
7. Flee
8. Allen v. Farrow
9. All Light, Everywhere
10. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
11. Becoming Cousteau
12. Ascension
13. Gunda
14. Some Kind of Heaven
15. The Velvet Underground
Comments: “It’s inspiring and gives one hope to see so much great work being done in the midst of a global pandemic. I have to caveat that I haven’t seen Procession yet, by Robert Greene, who is one of the best doc filmmakers working today. The boyhood abuse subject matter is close to home and it takes me years to get to those stories. Great movies in a tough year!”
Kathia Woods
Critic, Cupofsoulshow, The Philadelphia Tribune
1. Flee
2. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
3. My Name is Pauli Murray
4. Pray Away
5. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
6. Homeroom
7. Ailey
8. Audible
9. Sisters on Track
10. Attica
11. Blind Ambition*
12. Tina
13. A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
14. Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away
15. Fauci
16. The Sparks Brothers
17. Exterminate All the Brutes
18. MLK/FBI
19. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
20. Procession
