Oscar contenders are squaring off in this early battle for the Best Documentary prize.
All eyes were on nonfiction films tonight when the Critics Choice Documentary Awards took place in New York City. The ceremony highlights the best feature, short, and television documentaries, pitting blockbusters like “The Beatles: Get Back” and “Moonage Daydream” against smaller Oscar contenders like “Descendant” and “Fire of Love.” The ceremony serves as an early battleground in the Best Documentary Feature race, so it’s a can’t-miss event for Oscar watchers.
One clear winner emerged throughout the night: “Good Night Oppy.” Ryan White’s documentary about NASA’s groundbreaking Opportunity rover won five of the top prizes: Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Score, Best Science/Nature Documentary, and Best Narration. Given that the Amazon-backed documentary was competing against the likes of Judd Apatow and Brett Morgen, the sweep made a bold statement as the Oscar race heats up.
On the episodic side, “The Beatles: Get Back” won Best Limited Series Documentary and Best Music Documentary, though it lost Best Archival Documentary to “Fire of Love.” And Rob McElhenney showed up to accept Best Sports Documentary for “Welcome to Wrexham,” an honor his show shared with “Citizen Ashe.”
Keep reading for the complete list of nominees from the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Winners have been bolded.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Aftershock” (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
“The Automat” (A Slice of Pie Productions)
“Descendant” (Netflix)
“Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” (Briarcliff Entertainment/CNN Films/TIME Studios)
“Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios)
“The Janes” (HBO)
“Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon)
“Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Sidney” (Apple TV+)
BEST DIRECTOR
Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio – “George Carlin’s American Dream” (HBO)
Margaret Brown – “Descendant” (Netflix)
Sara Dosa – “Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Reginald Hudlin – “Sidney” (Apple TV+)
Brett Morgen – “Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon)
Laura Poitras – “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (HBO/Neon)
Daniel Roher – “Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ryan White – “Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Andrea Arnold – “Cow” (IFC Films)
Lisa Hurwitz – “The Automat” (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Jono McLeod – “My Old School” (Magnolia Pictures)
Amy Poehler – “Lucy and Desi” (Amazon Studios)
Alex Pritz – “The Territory” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
David Siev – “Bad Axe” (IFC Films)
Bianca Stigter – “Three Minutes: A Lengthening” (Neon)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Benjamin Bernhard, Riju Das – “All That Breathes” (HBO)
Magda Kowalczyk – “Cow” (IFC Films)
Lucas Tucknott – “McEnroe” (Showtime)
Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Sam Holling – “Nuisance Bear” (The New Yorker)
The Cinematography Team – “Our Great National Parks” (Netflix)
Alex Pritz, Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau – “The Territory” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
BEST EDITING
Jabez Olssen – “The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+)
Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput – “Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Joe Beshenkovsky – “George Carlin’s American Dream” (HBO)
Helen Kearns, Rejh Cabrera – “Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios)
Brett Morgen – “Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon)
Langdon Page, Maya Daisy Hawke – “Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Katharina Wartena – “Three Minutes: A Lengthening” (Neon)
BEST SCORE
Hummie Mann – “The Automat” (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Nicolas Godin – “Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Blake Neely – “Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios)
Max Avery Lichtenstein – “The Janes” (HBO)
David Schwartz – “Lucy and Desi” (Amazon Studios)
Marius de Vries, Matt Robertson – “Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
BEST NARRATION
“Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story” (Fin and Fur Films)
Written by Ben Masters
Performed by Matthew McConaughey
“Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Written by Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa
Performed by Miranda July
“Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios) Written by Helen Kearns, Ryan White
Performed by Angela Bassett
“Our Great National Parks” (Netflix)
Performed by Barack Obama
“Riotsville, U.S.A.” (Magnolia Pictures)
Written by Tobi Haslett
Performed by Charlene Modeste
“Three Minutes: A Lengthening” (Neon)
Written by Bianca Stigter
Performed by Helena Bonham Carter
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
“The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+)
“Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
“Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon)
“Nothing Compares” (Showtime)
“Riotsville, U.S.A.” (Magnolia Pictures)
“Three Minutes: A Lengthening” (Neon)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
“The Automat” (A Slice of Pie Productions)
“Descendant” (Netflix)
“The Janes” (HBO)
“Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power” (Peacock)
“Still Working 9 to 5” (Mighty Fine Entertainment)
“Three Minutes: A Lengthening” (Neon)
“The U.S. and the Holocaust” (PBS)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
“George Carlin’s American Dream” (HBO)
“The Last Movie Stars” (HBO Max/CNN Films)
“Lucy and Desi” (Amazon Studios)
“The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks” (Peacock)
“Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Sidney” (Apple TV+)
“‘Sr.’” (Netflix)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
“The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+)
“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“If These Walls Could Sing” (Disney Original Documentary)
“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” (Apple TV+)
“Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon)
“Nothing Compares” (Showtime)
“The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile” (Sony Pictures Classics)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
“Aftershock” (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (HBO/Neon)
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” (Briarcliff Entertainment/CNN Films/TIME Studios)
“The Janes” (HBO)
“Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Retrograde” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (Netflix)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
“All That Breathes” (HBO)
“Cow” (IFC Films)
“Fire of Love” (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
“Good Night Oppy” (Amazon Studios)
“Nuisance Bear” (The New Yorker)
“Return to Space” (Netflix)
“The Territory” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
“Citizen Ashe” (Magnolia/HBO Max/CNN Films)
“Hockeyland” (Greenwich Entertainment)
“Kaepernick & America” (Dark Star Pictures)
“McEnroe” (Showtime)
“The Redeem Team” (Netflix)
“Welcome to Wrexham” (FX/Hulu)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
“38 at the Garden” (HBO)
“Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison” (MTV Documentary Films)
“The Flagmakers” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Four Seasons Total Documentary” (MSNBC)
“My Disability Roadmap” (The New York Times Op Docs)
“Nuisance Bear” (The New Yorker)
“Stranger at the Gate” (The New Yorker)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+)
“Hostages” (HBO)
“The Last Movie Stars” (HBO Max/CNN Films)
“The Lincoln Project” (Showtime)
“Our Great National Parks” (Netflix)
“The U.S. and the Holocaust” (PBS)
“We Need to Talk About Cosby” (Showtime)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“30 for 30” (ESPN)
“American Masters” (PBS)
“Cheer” (Netflix)
“The Circus” (Showtime)
“Unsolved Mysteries” (Netflix)
“Welcome to Wrexham” (FX/Hulu)
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