award shows, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, documentaries, movies, New York City, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
November 12, 2023
by Carla Hay
The following is a press release from the Critics Choice Association:
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) unveiled the winners of the Eighth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards at a gala event in New York City. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie took home five trophies in all including the top award of the evening for Best Documentary Feature. The film’s other victories were Best Director for Davis Guggenheim, Best Editing for Michael Harte, Best Narration for Michael J. Fox, and Best Biographical Documentary.
The Critics Choice Documentary Awards recognize the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members.
20 Days in Mariupol, American Symphony, and The Deepest Breath each took home two awards.
20 Days in Mariupol won the awards for Best First Documentary for director Mstyslav Chernov, and Best Political Documentary.
Jon Batiste won Best Score for his work on American Symphony and the film also took home the award for Best Music Documentary.
The Deepest Breath was another of the evening’s double award-winners, with wins for Tim Cragg in Best Cinematography and Best Sports Documentary.
The trophy for Best Archival Documentary was awarded to Being Mary Tyler Moore.
Best Historical Documentary went to JFK: One Day in America.
The award for Best Science/Nature Documentary was presented to Secrets of the Elephants.
In the True Crime Documentary category, there was a tie between Lennon: Murder Without a Trial and Telemarketers.
The Last Repair Shop won the award for Best Short Documentary.
Best Limited Documentary Series went to The 1619 Project.
30 for 30 took home the award for Best Ongoing Documentary Series.
At the ceremony, the Pennebaker Award was presented to acclaimed documentarian Ross McElwee. The award, formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, is named in honor of D A Pennebaker, a past winner. It was presented to Kopple by Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s long-time collaborator and widow.
For the fourth year in a row, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards welcomed National Geographic Documentary Films as the Presenting Sponsor.
The Catalyst Sponsors for the Eighth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards were Amazon MGM Studios and Netflix.
The Spirits Sponsor of the event was Milagro Tequila.
To stream the ceremony, learn more about the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and see the full list of nominees and winners, visit the Critics Choice Association website.
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Winners of the Eighth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards
*=winner
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
American Symphony (Netflix)
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
The Mission (National Geographic)
Stamped from the Beginning (Netflix)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)*
BEST DIRECTOR
Maite Alberdi – The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Davis Guggenheim – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)*
Matthew Heineman – American Symphony (Netflix)
Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss – The Mission (National Geographic)
Steve McQueen – Occupied City (A24)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)*
26.2 to Life (Film Halau)
Bad Press (Oklafilm)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Orlando, My Political Biography (Sideshow)
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Greenwich Entertainment)
The Thief Collector (FilmRise)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tim Cragg – The Deepest Breath (Netflix)*
Tony Hardmon, Matthew Heineman, Thorsten Thielow – American Symphony (Netflix)
Lennert Hillege – Occupied City (A24)
Franz Lustig – Anselm (Sideshow)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Toby Strong, James Boon, Bob Poole, Neil Fairlie, Wim Vorster, Joshua Tarr, Pete Allibone, Neil Harvey, Andreas Knausenberger – Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)
BEST EDITING
Sammy Dane, Jim Hession, Matthew Heineman, Fernando Villegas – American Symphony (Netflix)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Michael Harte – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)*
Michelle Mizner – 20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Aaron Wickenden – The Mission (National Geographic)
BEST SCORE
Jon Batiste – American Symphony (Netflix)*
Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans – The Mission (National Geographic)
Nainita Desai – The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
Philip Glass & Paul Leonard-Morgan – The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+)
Katya Richardson & Kris Bowers – The Last Repair Shop (Breakwater Studios)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
BEST NARRATION
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
Written and Performed by Mstyslav Chernov
32 Sounds (Abramorama)
Written and Performed by Sam Green
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films)
Written by Nicole Newnham, Eileen Meyer and Shere Hite
Performed by Dakota Johnson
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+)
Performed by Kiefer Sutherland
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)
Written by Martin Williams, Caroline Hawkins and Jonathan Frisby
Performed by Natalie Portman
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)*
Written and Performed by Michael J. Fox
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO | Max)*
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films)
It Ain’t Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
The 1619 Project (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)*
The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
Lakota Nation vs. United States (IFC Films)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
Occupied City (A24)
Stamped from the Beginning (Netflix)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO | Max)
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO Documentary Films)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
Sly (Netflix)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)*
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
American Symphony (Netflix)*
Carlos (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop (Netflix)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia Pictures/CNN Films)
Love to Love You, Donna Summer (HBO | Max)
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (AMC Theatres)
What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? (Abramorama)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)*
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
Every Body (Focus Features)
Lakota Nation vs. United States (IFC Films)
Silver Dollar Road (Amazon MGM Studios)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
32 Sounds (Abramorama)
Between Earth & Sky (PBS)
Life on Our Planet (Netflix)
Path of the Panther (National Geographic)
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Netflix)
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)*
Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West (Gravitas Ventures)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Black Ice (Roadside Attractions)
BS High (HBO | Max)
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)*
It Ain’t Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
Reggie (Amazon Studios)
Stephen Curry: Underrated (Apple TV+)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
Burden of Proof (HBO | Max)
The Jewel Thief (Hulu)
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+)* (tie)
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
Telemarketers (HBO | Max)* (tie)
The Thief Collector (FilmRise)
Victim/Suspect (Netflix)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The ABCs of Book Banning (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
The Barber of Little Rock (Story Syndicate)
Between Earth & Sky (PBS)
Keys to the City (New Yorker)
The Last Repair Shop (Breakwater Studios)*
Last Song From Kabul (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The 1619 Project (Hulu/Onyx Collective)*
Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (Netflix)
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+)
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)
Shiny Happy People (Amazon Studios)
Telemarketers (HBO | Max)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN)*
Frontline (PBS)
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
POV (PBS)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
About the Critics Choice Awards
The Critics Choice Documentary Awards are an offshoot of the Critics Choice Awards, which are bestowed annually by the CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, the Critics Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.
The Critics Choice Awards ceremony will be held on January 14, 2024 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, CA, and will be broadcast live on The CW.
About the Critics Choice Association (CCA)
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 580 media critics and entertainment journalists. It was established in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, in recognition of the intersection between film, television, and streaming content. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com.
To learn more about the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and see the full list of nominees, visit the Critics Choice Association website.