List of 2023 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards Winners – The Hollywood Reporter

Still: A Michael J. Fox film It was the top winner at the 2023 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out Sunday night.

Among the other awards the film received was the award for Best Novel by Michael J. Fox. It also won Best Biographical Documentary Feature, Best Direction for Davis Guggenheim, and Best Editing for Michael Hart, for a total of five awards.

Elsewhere, Jon Batiste won with the best result American Symphony On the heels of his five Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year. American Symphony It was also chosen as Best Music Document.

20 days in Mariupol It won two awards, for best feature documentary and best political documentary.

The eighth annual awards ceremony, hosted by Wyatt Cenac, was held at Edison Hall in New York.

Winners were announced in 18 categories, including theatrical films, television and digital platforms. Also this year, Critics’ Choice honored Ross McElwee with the Pennebaker Award, formerly known as the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award and named after Lifetime Achievement Award winner D.A. Pennebaker.

This year’s ceremony was broadcast live via YouTube, Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter).

Below is a complete list of this year’s Critics’ Choice Documentary Award winners.

Best Documentary Feature

20 days in Mariupol (PBS)
American Symphony (Netflix)
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Deeper Breath (Netflix)
Eternal Memory (MTV Documentaries)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Mission (National Geographic)
Stamped from the Beginning (Netflix)
Still: The Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+) (WINNER)

Best director

Mighty Alberde – Eternal Memory (MTV Documentaries)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Davis Guggenheim – Still: The Michael J. Fox Film (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Matthew Heineman – American Symphony (Netflix)
Amanda McBain and Jessie Moss – The Mission (National Geographic)
Steve McQueen – Occupied City (A24)

Best First Documentary Feature

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS) (WINNER)
26.2 To Life (Halau movie)
Bad press (oklafilm)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Orlando, My Political Biography (Side Show)
Smoke Sauna Sisters (Greenwich Entertainment)
The Thief Mosque (Rise Film)

Best cinematography

Tim Cragg – Deeper Breath (Netflix) (WINNER)
Tony Hardemon, Matthew Heinemann, Thorsten Thiloe – American Symphony (Netflix)
Lennert Heilig – Occupied City (A24)
Franz Lustig – Anselm (side view)
Dr.. Smith – City of Kokomo (Magnolia Pictures)
Toby Strong, James Boone, Bob Ball, Neil Fairley, Wim Forster, Joshua Tarr, Pete Allbone, Neil Harvey, Andreas Knausenberger – Secrets of Elephants (National Geographic)

Best editing

Sammy Dane, Jim Hession, Matthew Heineman, Fernando Villegas – American Symphony (Netflix)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Michael Hart – Still: The Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Michele Mizner – 20 days in Mariupol (PBS)
Dr.. Smith – City of Kokomo (Magnolia Pictures)
Aaron Wickenden – The Mission (National Geographic)

Best result

Jon Batiste – American Symphony (Netflix) (WINNER)
Danny Pensi and Sunder Jorjans – The Mission (National Geographic)
Nenita Desai – Deeper Breath (Netflix)
Philip Glass and Paul Leonard Morgan – Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+)
Katia Richardson and Chris Powers – The Last Repair Shop (Breakwater Studios)
Dr.. Smith – City of Kokomo (Magnolia Pictures)

Best novel

20 days in Mariupol (PBS)
Written and performed by Mstislav Chernov

32 votes (Abramorama)
Written and performed by Sam Green

The Disappearance of Cher Height (IFC Films)
Written by Nicole Newnham
Performed by Dakota Johnson

John Lennon: Lynching (Apple TV+)
Written by TBD
Performed by Kiefer Sutherland

Secrets of Elephants (National Geographic)
Written by Martin Williams
Performed by Natalie Portman

Still: The Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Written and performed by Michael J. Fox

Best archival documentary

Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO|MAX) (WINNER)
The Disappearance of Cher Height (IFC Films)
It’s Not Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)

Best historical documentary

Project 1619 (Holo/Onyx Collection)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic) (WINNER)
Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu)
Lakota Nation vs. the 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 Cher Height (IFC Films)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO Documentaries)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu)
Foxy (Netflix)
Still: The Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+) (WINNER)

Best Music Documentary

American Symphony (Netflix) (winner)
Carlos (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ladies First: The Story of Women in Hip-Hop (Netflix)
Little Richard: I’m Everything (Magnolia Pictures/CNN Films)
I Love to Love You, Donna Summer (HBO | MAX)
Taylor Swift: Tour of the Ages (AMC Theaters)
What the hell happened to the blood, sweat and tears? (Abramorama/Free Digital Media)

Best political documentary

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS) (WINNER)
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Dead End: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
Whole Body (Focus Features)
Lakota Nation vs. the United States (IFC Films)
Silver Dollar Road (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Science/Nature Documentary

32 votes (Abramorama)
Between Earth and Sky (PBS)
Life on our planet (Netflix)
Tiger Road (National Geographic)
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Netflix)
Secrets of Elephants (National Geographic) (WINNER)
Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West (Gravity Projects)

Best sports documentary

Black Ice (Roadside Attractions)
High Bachelor Degree (HBO | max)
Deeper Breath (Netflix) (WINNER)
It’s Not Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
Reggie (Amazon Studios)
Stephen Curry: Underrated (Apple TV+)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

Best True Crime Documentary (Tie)

Burden of Proof (HBO)
Jewel Thief (Hulu)
John Lennon: Lynching (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
The Mardu Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
Telemarketers (HBO|MAX) (WINNER)
The Thief Mosque (Rise Film)
Victim/Suspect (Netflix)

Best short documentary

The ABCs of Book Ban (MTV Documentaries)
Little Rock Barber (Story Guild)
Between Earth and Sky (PBS)
Keys to the City (New Yorker)
Final Repair Workshop (Breaking Studios) (Winner)
Last Song From Kabul (MTV Documentaries)

Best documentary limited series

Project 1619 (Hulu/Onyx Collective) (WINNER)
Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (Netflix)
Dead End: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
John Lennon: Lynching (Apple TV+)
Secrets of Elephants (National Geographic)
Shiny Happy People (Amazon Studios)
Telemarketers (HBO|MAX)

Best ongoing documentary series

30 for 30 (ESPN) (WINNER)
Front Line (PBS)
The Mardu Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
POV (TV show)
Trafficking with Mariana Van Zeller (National Geographic)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)