The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) have announced the nominees for their inaugural Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, taking place next month at a first-time gala event in Brooklyn, New York. Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” and Clay Tweel’s “Gleason” lead the pack of nominees, with five nominations each. Other nominees include Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” the gob-smacking “Weiner” and recent Netflix features “Amanda Knox” and “Audrie & Daisy.”
“It is an amazing time for documentaries, with the ever-increasing number of platforms enabling producers to reach enthusiastic and growing audiences for non-fiction storytelling,” said BFCA and BTJA President Joey Berlin. “This is clearly demonstrated in the depth and quality of our inaugural nominees. We have a wealth of brilliant creators who are bringing to light some of the most entertaining and illuminating stories being told today. Indeed, documentary filmmaking is modern investigative journalism.”
READ MORE: Critics’ Choice Awards Adds Brand New Event Honoring Documentary Film and Television
As part of the gala awards ceremony, the BFCA and BTJA will also be honoring this year’s “Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary.” The honorees are as follows:
Danny Fields – “Danny Says”
Iggy Pop – “Gimme Danger”
Kirsten Johnson – “Cameraperson”
Owen Suskind – “Life, Animated”
Sharon Jones – “Miss Sharon Jones!”
Steve Gleason – “Gleason”
Theo Padnos -” Theo Who Lived”
Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards Nominations include:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Cameraperson”
“Fire at Sea”
“Gleason”
“Life, Animated”
“O.J.: Made in America”
“13th”
“Tickled”
“Tower”
“Weiner”
“The Witness”
“Cameraperson”
BEST DIRECTION OF A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Ezra Edelman, “O.J.: Made in America”
Ron Howard, “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Keith Maitland, “Tower”
Clay Tweel, “Gleason”
Roger Ross Williams, “Life, Animated”
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Otto Bell, “The Eagle Huntress”
David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, “Tickled”
Adam Irving, “Off the Rails”
Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, “Weiner”
James D. Solomon, “The Witness”
Nanfu Wang, “Hooligan Sparrow”
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
“Audrie & Daisy”
“Newtown”
“O.J.: Made in America”
“13th”
“Weiner”
“Zero Days”
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (TV/STREAMING)
“Amanda Knox”
“Audrie & Daisy”
“Before the Flood”
“Holy Hell”
“Into the Inferno”
“Jim: The James Foley Story”
“Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures”
“Rats”
“13th”
“30 for 30: Fantastic Lies”
“O.J.: Made in America”
ESPN
BEST DIRECTOR (TV/STREAMING)
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures”
Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn, “Amanda Knox”
Ava DuVernay, “13th”
Werner Herzog, “Into the Inferno”
Morgan Spurlock, “Rats”
Fisher Stevens, “Before the Flood”
BEST FIRST FEATURE (TV/STREAMING)
Jacob Bernstein and Nick Hooker, “Everything Is Copy”
Will Allen, “Holy Hell”
Jessica Edwards, “Mavis!”
Sophie Robinson and Lotje Sodderland, “My Beautiful Broken Brain”
Deborah Esquenazi, “Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”
Jon Greenhalgh, “Team Foxcatcher”
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth”
“The Eighties”
“The Hunt”
“Jackie Robinson”
“O.J.: Made in America”
“Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music”
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“30 for 30”
“Frontline”
“Last Chance U”
“Morgan Spurlock Inside Man”
“POV”
“This Is Life With Lisa Ling”
“Audrie & Daisy”
BEST SONG IN A DOCUMENTARY
“Angel by the Wings” from “The Eagle Huntress,” written and performed by Sia
“The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story,” written by Sting and J. Ralph, performed by Sting
“Flicker” from “Audrie & Daisy,” written and performed by Tori Amos
“Hoping and Healing” from “Gleason,” written and performed by Mike McCready
“I’m Still Here” from “Miss Sharon Jones!,” written by Sharon Jones, performed by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
“Letters to The Free” from “13th,” written by Common, Karrien Riggins and Robert Glasper, performed by Common featuring Bilal
READ MORE: Critics’ Choice Awards Jump Ahead of Oscar Season Fray
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
“Dark Horse”
“The Eagle Huntress”
“Gleason”
“Jackie Robinson”
“Keepers of the Game“
“OJ: Made in America”
“30 for 30: Fantastic Lies”
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – the Touring Years”
“Gimme Danger”
“Miss Sharon Jones”
“The Music of Strangers”
“Presenting Princess Shaw”
“We Are X”
MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY
“Cameraperson”
“Kate Plays Christine”
“Life, Animated”
“Nuts!”
“Tower”
“Under The Sun”
Qualified members of BFCA and BTJA will choose the winners from amongst the nominees in voting October 31 – November 1. The inaugural event will take place on Thursday, November 3 in Brooklyn, New York.
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