Ava DuVernay’s timely and viscerally moving “14th” leads this year’s Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations with six, including best documentary feature. Close behind with five nominations apiece are Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s examination of Elizabeth Holmes, “You Can See Everything”; Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman’s polar bear migration story, “Nuisance Bear”; David Greaves’ archival portrait of Black cultural history, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” and Pegah Ahangarani’s Iranian historical documentary, “Rehearsals for a Revolution.”
Netflix led all distributors with 17 nominations, nearly double the nine earned by runner-up Neon.
DuVernay, Fielder and Oppenheim are among the directing nominees, alongside Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor for “NAZA,” Felipe Bustos Sierra for “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” Ross McElwee for “Remake” and Orlando von Einsiedel for “The Cycle of Love,” the only directing nominee whose film did not land a documentary feature nom.
Now in its 11th year, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards will take place Nov. 8 at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, with television host and producer Ross Matthews serving as host. The awards celebrate excellence in nonfiction filmmaking.
The organization’s track record of predicting Oscar success has been mixed over the years. Its inaugural top prize winner, “O.J.: Made in America” (2016), went on to win the Academy Award for documentary feature. Since then, only three other top prize winners or nominees have crossed over to the Oscars: winner “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” (2021) and nominees “Will & Harper” (2024) and last year’s “The Perfect Neighbor” (2025). All others failed to be nominated, or in some cases, not even make the preliminary shortlist (i.e., 2022’s “Good Night Oppy”).
As previously announced, Ron Howard will receive the Critics Choice Impact Award. Visionary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim will receive the CCA’s Pennebaker Award, presented by Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s widow and longtime collaborator. Named in honor of trailblazing documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, the award, formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizes filmmakers whose careers have made a profound and lasting contribution to documentary storytelling.
Feature-length documentaries, two-part documentaries and short-form documentaries are eligible for nomination if they were first released commercially in the U.S. between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2026.
The full list of nominees are below.
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Courtesy MK2
Best Documentary Feature
- “14th” (Netflix)
- “Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (Icarus Films)
- “The History of Concrete” (Magnolia Pictures)
- “Musk” (Bleecker Street)
- “Naza” (The Guardian / MK2 Films)
- “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)
- “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Remake” (Music Box Films)
- “You Can See Everything” (A24)
Best Director
- Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — “Naza” (The Guardian / MK2 Films)
- Felipe Bustos Sierra — “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (Icarus Films)
- Ava DuVernay — “14th” (Netflix)
- Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim — “You Can See Everything” (A24)
- Ross McElwee — “Remake” (Music Box Films)
- Orlando von Einsiedel — “The Cycle of Love” (Variance Films)
Best First Documentary Feature
- David Greaves — “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)
- Baz Luhrmann — “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (Neon)
- Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman — “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)
- Xander Robin — “The Python Hunt” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
- Poh Si Teng — “American Doctor” (Watermelon Pictures)
- John Wilson — “The History of Concrete” (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Cinematography
- David Bolen — “You Can See Everything” (A24)
- David Bolen and Matt Clegg — “The Python Hunt” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
- Sophie Darlington — “Lion” (National Geographic)
- Franklin Dow — “The Cycle of Love” (Variance Films)
- Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman — “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)
- Clair Popkin, Jimmy Chin and Christopher Murphy — “Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Best Editing
- Spencer Averick — “14th” (Netflix)
- Anne de Mare and Lynn True — “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)
- Adam Locke-Norton — “You Can See Everything” (A24)
- Colin Monie — “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (Icarus Films)
- Jonathan Redmond — “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (Neon)
- Cori Wapnowska — “The History of Concrete” (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Narration
- “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” (Focus Features) — Written by Daniel Roher and Caroline Lindy; Performed by Daniel Roher and Caroline Lindy
- “The History of Concrete” (Magnolia Pictures) — Written by John Wilson; Performed by John Wilson
- “Lorne” (Focus Features) — Written by Morgan Neville, Alan Lowe and Jake Hostetter; Performed by Chris Parnell
- “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi) — Written by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons; Performed by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons
- “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Written by Pega English; Performed by Pegah Ahangarani
- “Remake” (Music Box Films) — Written by Ross McElwee; Performed by Ross McElwee
Best Music Score
- Ari Balouzian — “You Can See Everything” (A24)
- Dan Deacon — “Time and Water” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- Caroline Ho — “Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- Jason Moran — “14th” (Netflix)
- Cristóbal Tapia de Veer — “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)
- Hans Zimmer, Niccolò Pacella and George Hutson Warren — “Lion” (National Geographic)
Best Music Documentary
- “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)” (HBO Max)
- “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (Neon)
- “Man on the Run” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
- “Peter Asher: Everywhere Man” (Greenwich Entertainment)
- “Sara Bareilles: Good Grief” (Group Effort Films / Naked Edge Films)
Best Political Documentary
- “14th” (Netflix)
- “American Doctor” (Watermelon Pictures)
- “Ask E. Jean” (Abramorama)
- “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (Icarus Films)
- “Musk” (Bleecker Street)
- “NAZA” (The Guardian / MK2 Films)
- “Union Town” (Cabin Creek Films)
Best Historical Documentary
- “14th” (Netflix)
- “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)
- “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of” (Netflix)
- “Soul Patrol” (Kino Lorber)
- “Turning Point: Generation 9/11″ (Netflix)
Best Biographical Documentary
- “Avedon” (Netflix)
- “Jean-Michel Basquiat” (Netflix)
- “Lorne” (Focus Features)
- “Marty, Life Is Short” (Netflix)
- “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!” (HBO Max)
- “Musk” (Bleecker Street)
Best Archival Documentary
- “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (Neon)
- “Making Marie Antoinette” (Movie)
- “Man on the Run” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)
- “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Remake” (Music Box Films)
Best Science/Nature Documentary
- “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” (Focus Features)
- “Ghost Elephants” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- “Lion” (National Geographic)
- “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)
- “Secrets of the Bees” (National Geographic)
- “Time and Water” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Best Sports Documentary
- “The Dynasty: UConn Huskies” (Apple TV)
- “Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Documentary Films)
- “Give Me the Ball!” (ESPN)
- “Rafa” (Netflix)
- “Standout: The Ben Kjar Story” (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
- “Tyson” (Netflix)
Best True Crime Documentary
- “Baby Doe” (Narrative Distribution)
- “Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story” (Dark Star Pictures)
- “The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare” (Netflix)
- “A Killer Story” (HBO Max)
- “Lost Women of Alaska” (Investigation Discovery)
- “Murder in Glitterball City” (HBO Max)
Best Short Documentary
- “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” (Netflix)
- “A Derailment” (POV)
- “Escalation” (Bonfire Films)
- “Miller Night Football” (HBO Max)
- “Oh Whale” (The New Yorker / Switchboard Magazine)
- “The Second Life of Freddie Nole” (Sweet World Films)
- “A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil” (archilux)
- “They’re Here” (Praxis Films)
Best Limited Documentary Series
- “9/11: Reunited” (National Geographic)
- “The Dark Wizard” (HBO Max)
- “The Dynasty: UConn Huskies” (Apple TV)
- “High Horse: The Black Cowboy” (Peacock)
- “Lion” (National Geographic)
- “The Man Will Burn” (HBO Max)
- “Rafa” (Netflix)
Best Ongoing Documentary Series
- “30 for 30″ (ESPN)
- “American Masters” (PBS)
- “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” (Netflix)
- “The Food That Built America” (History)
- “Hazardous History with Henry Winkler” (History)
- “Independent Lens” (PBS)
- “Untold” (Netflix)
Source: variety.com
