‘The Overnighters’ Voted the Best Documentary of 2014 in 2nd Annual Nonfics Year-End Poll

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Nonfics Year-End Poll. We’re not going to continue calling it a “critics poll” because (just as we did last year) we’ve invited non-critics to take part. Most of the contributors are critics and/or editors and/or journalists. There are also some film festival programmers and filmmakers in the bunch. We got a few more people to take part than last year, too. Unlike last year, however, we didn’t include anyone who hadn’t submitted directly to us. Just from invites we were able to get enough best-of lists.

The poll is devoted specifically to documentaries released in the U.S. in 2014. The definition of what a documentary is can be taken loosely. One person named the popular true crime podcast Serial as one of his top docs of the year. And there are more shorts being considered for year-end recognition now. Some contributors named older releases (such as Los Angeles Plays Itself, which was re-released in 2013) and titles that haven’t officially opened here yet. The latter have been compiled alphabetically below the main ranking. Following that are individual contributors’ lists.

How did the ranking occur? We tallied up from those individual lists based on a 20-point system. Everyone’s first pick is worth 20 points, second pick is 19 points and downward. The resulting favorite is a little more surprising this year than last. I was sure that Citizenfour would take the top slot, but instead The Overnighters was also the overcomer. Rounding out the top three is Life Itself, and this trio is kind of in a place all their own, their points being much higher than the fourth favorite and the rest.

Without further ado, here are this year’s 107 qualified titles for 2014, ranked:

1. The Overnighters (476)
2. Citizenfour (439)
3. Life Itself (401)
4. Actress (230)
5. 20,000 Days on Earth (203)
6. Manakamana (196)
7. Rich Hill (187)
8. National Gallery (170)
9. Tales of the Grim Sleeper (167)
10. Finding Vivian Maier (161)

11. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (158)
12. Jodorowsky’s Dune (154)
13. Virunga (153)
14. The Unknown Known (124)
15. The Great Invisible (104)
16. The Kill Team (95)
17. Happy Valley (82)
Maidentrip (82)
19. Point and Shoot (76)
20. Concerning Violence (73)

21. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (72)
22. Waiting for August (71)
23. The Missing Picture (67)
24. The Case Against 8 (66)
25. Last Days in Vietnam (59)
26. 12 O’Clock Boys (57)
27. Particle Fever (54)
The Salt of the Earth (54)
29. Art and Craft (52)
Mistaken for Strangers (52)

31. The 50-Year Argument (49)
32. Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (47)
Northern Light (47)

34. What Now? Remind Me (44)
35. The Dog (40)
36. Expedition to the End of the World (39)
37. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (38)
38. Teenage (37)
39. Elena (36)
The Last of the Unjust (36)
Maidan (36)

42. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart (35)
Stop the Pounding Heart (35)
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
45. The Final Member (34)
Return to Homs (34)
47. Sepideh (32)
48. Mitt (30)
49. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (30)
50. No No: A Dockumentary (29)

51. The Lion’s Mouth Opens (28)
52. Happiness (27)
Keep On Keepin’ On (27)
54. Web Junkie (26)
55. Fed Up (24)
56. Harmontown (21)
57. Serial (20)
58. Evolution of a Criminal (19)
59. Fifi Howls From Happiness (18)
The Great Flood (18)
Love Child (18)
Out of Print (18)

63. Anita (17)
Closed Curtain (17)
65. The Green Prince (16)
Jingle Bell Rocks! (16)
67. Alive Inside
(15)
Big Men (15)
Charlie Victor Romeo (15)
The E-Team (15)
Naked Opera (15)
Our Curse (15)
Private Violence (15)
Transformers: The Premake (15)

75. 112 Weddings (14)
Before You Know It (14)
I Am Santa Claus (14)
To Be Takei (14)
Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache (14)
80. Citizen Koch (13)
For No Good Reason (13)
Print the Legend (13)
Tim’s Vermeer (13)
84. Algorithms (12)
The Battered Bastards of Baseball (12)
Beyond the Edge (12)
Brothers Hypnotic (12)
Death Metal Angola (12)
Food Chains (12)
Levitated Mass (12)

91. Big Joy (11)
DamNation (11)
Freeload (11)
94. Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys (10)
Rocks in My Pockets (10)
96. Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case (9)
Ivory Tower (9)
The Sheik (9)
99. Bible Quiz (8)
The Homestretch (8)

101. Remote Area Medical (5)
Visitors (5)
103. The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga (4)
A Will for the Woods (4)
105. 1989 (2)
Tough Bond (2)
107. Kids for Cash (1)

The following 52 titles mentioned on individual lists have not yet officially been released in the U.S.:
1971
The Agreement
Approaching the Elephant
Around the World in 80 Concerts
Before We Go
Buffalo Juggalos
Bx46
Crepuscule
Evaporating Borders
Everything Will Be
Farocki
Ginza Strip
Giuseppe Makes a Movie
Guidelines
The Hand That Feeds
Holbrook/Tain: An American Odyssey
An Honest Liar
Hacked Circuit
Hotel Nueva Isla
I Am Big Bird
Industrian Revolution
The Iron Ministry
Kung Fu Elliot
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann
Life After Death
Limo Ride
Living Stars
Mateo
Meet the Patels
Memphis
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Natural History
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Pixadores
The Possibilities Are Endless
The Price We Pay
Psychic Driving
Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story
Red Army
Ruina
Sacro GRA
Smile and the World Will Smile Back
The Special Need
Steadiness
Stray Dog
Sunshine Superman
A Thousand Suns
Tomorrow We Disappear
Vessel
The Wanted 18
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!
Zivan Makes a Punk Festival

Christopher Campbell
Founding Editor, Nonfics
Associate Editor, Film School Rejects and Movies.com

1. Life Itself
2. National Gallery
3. Sepideh
4. Expedition to the End of the World
5. The Overnighters
6. Citizenfour
7. Actress
8. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
9. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
10. Maidentrip
11. Last Days in Vietnam
12. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart
13. Rich Hill
14. Virunga
15. Particle Fever
16. Concerning Violence
17. Finding Vivian Maier
18. Point and Shoot
19. 1989
20. Kids for Cash

The best unreleased films of the year:
1. The Special Need
2. 1971
3. Evaporating Borders
4. Kung Fu Elliot
5. Vessel

Daniel Walber
Film Critic, Nonfics and Film School Rejects
1. What Now? Remind Me
2. Citizenfour
3. The Overnighters
4. National Gallery
5. The Last of the Unjust
6. Naked Opera
7. Rich Hill
8. The Kill Team
9. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
10. Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
11. The Final Member
12. Maidan
13. Expedition to the End of the World
14. 20,000 Days on Earth
15. Maidentrip
16. Virunga
17. The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga
18. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
19. Particle Fever
20. Art and Craft

Dan Schindel
Film Critic, Nonfics and Movie Mezzanine
1. The Salt of the Earth
2. Actress
3. Concerning Violence
4. Citizenfour
5. The Overnighters
6. Charlie Victor Romeo
7. 12 O’Clock Boys
8. Rich Hill
9. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
10. The Final Member
11. Rocks in My Pockets
12. The Unknown Known
13. Bible Quiz
14. Finding Vivian Maier
15. Art and Craft
16. Remote Area Medical
17. A Will for the Woods
18. Harmontown
19. Tough Bond
20. Private Violence

Landon Palmer
Film Critic, Nonfics and Film School Rejects
1. The Unknown Known
2. Citizenfour
3. The Great Flood
4. Closed Curtain
5. The Overnighters
6. Manakamana
7. The 50-Year Argument
8. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart
9. 20,000 Days on Earth
10. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
11. Life Itself
12. National Gallery
13. Virunga
14. The Last of the Unjust
15. The Missing Picture
16. Visitors
17. Finding Vivian Maier
18. The Kill Team
19. Maidentrip
20. Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache

Katie Walsh
Film Critic, Nonfics and The Playlist
1. Elena
2. The Overnighters
3. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
4. Rich Hill
5. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
6. Citizenfour
7. The Dog
8. Happy Valley
9. Algorithms
10. Maidentrip

Jason Gorber
Film Critic, Twitch Film and Moviefone.ca
1. The Overnighters
2. The Look of Silence
3. Life Itself
4. Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
5. The Price We Pay
(the rest are unranked)
12 O’Clock Boys
The Dog
– The Final Member
National Gallery
Red Army
Rich Hill

Allison Loring
Film Critic, Film School Rejects
1. Stray Dog
2. Evolution of a Criminal
3. Harmontown

Tom Roston
Blogger, PBS’s POV Blog
1. Virunga
2. Citizenfour
3. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
4. Life Itself
5. Particle Fever
6. Ne Me Quitte Pas
7. 112 Weddings
8. 20,000 Days on Earth
9. Manakamana
10. The Great Invisible

Adam Benzine
Associate Editor and Online Editor, Realscreen
1. (TIE) The Lion’s Mouth Opens
and Serial
3. The Overnighters
4. Art and Craft
5. The 50-Year Argument
6. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
7. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
8. Virunga
9. Point and Shoot
10. The Last of the Unjust

Sam Adams
Film Critic, Criticwire and Philadelphia City Paper
1. 20,000 Days on Earth
2. Northern Light
3. Rich Hill
4. The Overnighters
5. Happy Valley
6. Actress
7. Private Violence
8. Citizenfour
9. The Case Against 8
10. Life Itself

Steve Greene
Assistant Editor, Criticwire
1. Manakamana
2. No No: A Dockumentary
3. Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger
4. The Overnighters
5. Citizenfour
6. Life Itself
7. The Unknown Known
8. The Dog
9. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
10. Virunga

The best unreleased films of the year:
1. Stray Dog
2. Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
3. Meet the Patels
4. Giuseppe Makes a Movie

David Ehrlich
Film Critic, Time Out New York
1. Actress
2. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
3. Citizenfour
4. The Great Invisible
5. Approaching the Elephant

Matt Patches
Film Critic, IGN Movies and In Contention
1. Citizenfour
2. The Overnighters
3. Virunga
4. Happy Valley
5. Jodorowsky’s Dune

jodorowsky's dune

Robert Sims
Film Critic, Lights Camera Austin
1. Citizenfour
2. Jodorowsky’s Dune
3. Life Itself
4. Finding Vivian Maier
5. Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
6. Art and Craft
7. 20,000 Days on Earth
8. For No Good Reason
9. Fed Up
10. The Great Invisible

Area23A

Christian Hamaker
Film Critic, Crosswalk.com
1. Life Itself
2. Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
3. Led Zeppelin Played Here
4. Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
5. The Overnighters

Netflix

J.S. Lewis
Film Critic, Fandango and MOVIECLIPS
1. Manakamana
2. National Gallery
3. Life Itself
4. The Unknown Known
5. Mitt

Music Box Films

Matthew Lucas
Film Critic, The Lexington Dispatch and From the Front Row
1. The Overnighters
2. The Unknown Known
3. Fifi Howls From Happiness
4. The Missing Picture
5. Manakamana
6. Life Itself
7. Expedition to the End of the World
8. The Kill Team
9. The Case Against 8
10. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

HBO Documentary Films

Adam Frazier
Film Critic, Geeks of Doom
1. Life Itself
2. Jodorowsky’s Dune
3. Out of Print
4. The Overnighters
5. Citizenfour
6. The Case Against 8
7. Last Days in Vietnam
8. Citizen Koch
9. Finding Vivian Maier
10. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
11. Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys
12. The Sheik

Oscilloscope Laboratories

Kenny Miles
Film Critic, The Movie Blog
1. The Overnighters
2. Life Itself
3. 12 O’Clock Boys
4. Jodorowsky’s Dune
5. Keep On Keepin’ On
6. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
7. Last Days in Vietnam
8. 20,000 Days on Earth
9. (TIE) Food Chains
and Fed Up
11. No No: A Dockumentary
12. Ivory Tower
13. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Clin D'oeil Films

Philip Martin
Film Critic, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
1. Stray Dog
2. Actress
3. An Honest Liar
4. Waiting for August
5. Happy Valley
6. Citizenfour
7. Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
8. The Overnighters
9. Virunga
10. The Unknown Known

RADiUS-TWC

Chase Whale
Film Critic, Central Track
1. Life Itself
2. Citizenfour
3. The Great Invisible
4. 20,000 Days on Earth
5. Jingle Bell Rocks!
6. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
7. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
8. The Overnighters
9. Rich Hill
10. Art and Craft

Vivian Maier/Maloof Collection

Patrick Cooper
Film Critic, Orlando Weekly and Bloody Disgusting
1. Life Itself
2. Jodorowsky’s Dune
3. Citizenfour
4. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
5. 20,000 Days on Earth
6. The Unknown Known
7. I am Santa Claus
8. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
9. Finding Vivian Maier
10. Red Army

HBO Documentary Films

Victor Morton
Film Critic, Rightwing Film Geek
1. National Gallery
2. Actress
3. Love Child
4. Mistaken for Strangers
5. The Green Prince
6. Web Junkie
7. Mitt
8. Tales of Grim Sleeper
9. Life Itself
10. Jodorowsky’s Dune

The Cinema Guild

Neil Young
Film Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
2014 World Premieres:
1. Psychotic Driving
2. Ginza Strip
3. Farocki
4. Pepper’s Ghost
5. We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!
6. Crepuscule
7. The Iron Ministry
8. Industrial Revolution
9. Smile and the World Will Smile Back
(the rest are unranked)
Around the World in 50 Concerts
Before We Go
Bx46
Concerning Violence
Hotel Nueva Isla
Maidan
Manakamana
Natural History
Pixadores
Return to Homs
Ruina
Sacro GRA
Steadiness
Zivan Makes a Punk Festival

The Orchard

Tim Grierson
Film Critic, Screen International, Deadspin and Paste
1. The Overnighters
2. The Unknown Known
3. Manakamana
4. National Gallery
5. Actress
6. The Great Invisible
7. Citizenfour
8. Northern Light
9. The Missing Picture
10. Rich Hill

First Run Features

Serena Donadoni
Film Critic, Village Voice/L.A. Weekly and The Cinema Girl
1. Maidentrip
2. Particle Fever
3. Los Angeles Plays Itself
4. Anita
5. Jodorowsky’s Dune
6. Teenage
7. To Be Takei
8. Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache
9. Beyond the Edge
10. Freeload

Strand Releasing

Patrick Mullen
Film Critic, Cinemablographer.com and Point of View
1. Finding Vivian Maier
2. The Overnighters
3. Actress
4. The Missing Picture
5. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
6. Everything Will Be
7. Life Itself
8. Point and Shoot
9. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
10. Keep On Keepin’ On

The best unreleased films of the year:
– Sunshine Superman
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I Am Big Bird
The Wanted 18

Limo Ride 008

Cameron McAllister
Editor, Reel Georgia
1. The Salt of the Earth
2. Life Itself
3. Limo Ride
4. Finding Vivian Maier
5. Virunga
6. The Hand That Feeds
7. Sepideh
8. Print the Legend
9. Brothers Hypnotic
10. Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story

Mistaken_for_Strangers_1

Jordan Raup
Editor-In-Chief, The Film Stage
1. Manakamana
2. Citizenfour
3. Mistaken for Strangers
4. Jodorowsky’s Dune
5. Life Itself
6. The Missing Picture
7. The Internet’s Own Boy
8. Tim’s Vermeer
9. The Battered Bastards of Baseball
10. Particle Fever

GKIDS

Alex Billington
Founder, FirstShowing.net
1. The Overnighters
2. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
3. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
4. Life Itself
5. Citizenfour
6. Alive Inside
7. The Salt of the Earth
8. The Look of Silence
9. Red Army
10. Tales of the Grim Sleeper

Roosevelt Harris in The Great Invisible

Samuel Fragoso
Founder, Movie Mezzanine
1. Actress
2. Life Itself
3. The Great Invisible
4. The 50-Year Argument
5. National Gallery

Oscilloscope Laboratories

Don Simpson
Managing Editor, Smells Like Screen Spirit
1. The Kill Team
2. Maidentrip
3. Actress
4. Concerning Violence
5. Rich Hill
6. The Overnighters
7. The Great Invisible
8. The Internet’s Own Boy
9. 12 O’Clock Boys
10. Teenage
11. 20,000 Days on Earth
12. Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case

Citizenfour Edward Snowden

Basil Tsiokos
Director of Programming, DOC NYC and Nantucket Film Festival
1. Manakamana
2. Citizenfour
3. Rich Hill
4. The Overnighters
5. Life Itself
6. Actress
7. Finding Vivian Maier
8. Concerning Violence
9. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
10. The Case Against 8
11. Maidan
12. Last Days in Vietnam
13. Waiting for August
14. Virunga
15. Jodorowsky’s Dune

Journeyman Pictures

Jason Perdue
Program Director, Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
1. Rich Hill
2. Actress
3. The Overnighters
4. 20,000 Days on Earth
5. Return to Homs
6. Citizenfour
7. An Honest Liar
8. Maidentrip
9. Levitated Mass
10. DamNation

Captivated

Clint Bowie
Program Director, New Orleans Film Festival
1. Rich Hill
2. Finding Vivian Maier
3. The Overnighters
4. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
5. The Case Against 8
6. Citizenfour
7. Before You Know It
8. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart
9. Death Metal Angola
10. Living Stars

The Orchard

Andy Markowitz
Chief Content Wrangler, MusicFilmWeb.com
1. Finding Vivian Maier
2. Point and Shoot
3. Virunga
4. Mistaken for Strangers
5. 20,000 Days on Earth
6. Life Itself
7. The Kill Team
8. Return to Homs
9. Last Days in Vietnam
10. Web Junkie

The best unreleased films of the year:
The Possibilities Are Endless
The Agreement

The Overnighters

Andrew Grant
President, Benten Films
1. 20,000 Days on Earth
2. The Overnighters
3. Actress
4. Citizenfour
5. Elena
6. Memphis
7. Jodorowsky’s Dune
8. Life Itself
9. An Honest Liar

Nick Broomfield and Pam Brooks in Tales of the Grim Sleeper

Tim Horsburgh
Director of Communications and Distribution, Kartemquin Films
1. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
2. Life Itself
(the rest are unranked)
Concerning Violence
The E-Team
Finding Vivian Maier
Hacked Circuit
Happiness
The Kill Team
Our Curse
Transformers: The Premake
Special mentions: The Lion’s Mouth Opens, The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, Vessel, The Homestretch, Rich Hill, Point and Shoot.

NATIONAL GALLERY PHOTO3

Robert Greene
Filmmaker, Actress and Kati With an i
1. National Gallery
2. Manakamana
3. The Overnighters
4. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
5. Stop the Pounding Heart
6. Big Men
7. 20,000 Days on Earth
8. Citizenfour
9. Maidan
10. (TIE) Waiting for August
and What Now? Remind Me

The best unreleased films of the year:
1. Ne Me Quitte Pas
14. Living Stars
15. Buffalo Juggalos
16. Life After Death
17. A Thousand Suns

Netflix

Jason Osder
Filmmaker, Let the Fire Burn
1. Citizenfour
2. Point and Shoot
3. The Overnighters
4. The Kill Team
5. Virunga

Big World Pictures

Sierra Pettingill
Filmmaker, Town Hall and Cutie and the Boxer
1. National Gallery
2. Stop the Pounding Heart
3. Waiting for August
4. The Overnighters
5. Citizenfour
6. Northern Light
7. Manakamana
8. What Now? Remind Me
9. Life After Death
10. Teenage

(Editor in Chief)

Christopher Campbell is the founding editor of Nonfics.