‘Crip Camp,’ ‘Gunda’ and ‘Mr. SOUL!’ Lead Critics Choice Documentary Award Nominations
Nominees were determined by the CCA’s documentary nominating committee.
Winners, which will be determined by all qualified CCA members, will be revealed in a special announcement on November 16.
Netflix scored more than twice as many noms (31) as the next-most-nominated distributor, Neon (14), powered by Crip Camp and a formidable five other titles that are also nominated for the top CCDA honor, best documentary feature: Athlete A, Dick Johnson Is Dead, My Octopus Teacher, A Secret Love and The Social Dilemma.
The other best doc feature nominees are Belushi (Showtime), Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens), The Fight (Magnolia), The Go-Go’s (Showtime), Gunda (Neon), Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions), The Painter and the Thief (Neon) and Time (Amazon).
A number of high-profile awards contenders did not receive a single nomination, among them The Dissident, Welcome to Chechnya, Collective The Human Factor and Rebuilding Paradise.
“At a unique time for the entertainment industry and the world, documentaries are more important and fortunately more abundant and more available and more essential than ever,” Christopher Campbell, the president of the CCA’s documentary branch, said in a statement. “In 2020, documentaries have taken us to places and shown us perspectives we’ve never experienced before. They’ve chronicled events and life stories that are enlightening and enthralling — and sometimes frightening. It is a great honor for the CCA to celebrate these stories and subjects and shed light on the work of so many incredible filmmakers. The documentary branch faced its greatest task yet considering the quantity and quality of nonfiction cinema released this year. Ultimately, these nominees represent the best of the best of a remarkably fruitful moment for documentary filmmaking.”
A full list of nominees follows.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Athlete A (Netflix)
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp (Netflix)
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
The Fight (Magnolia)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Gunda (Neon)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
The Painter and the Thief (Neon)
A Secret Love (Netflix)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Time (Amazon)
BEST DIRECTOR
Garrett Bradley, Time (Amazon)
Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, Athlete A (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky, Gunda (Neon)
James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, Crip Camp (Netflix)
Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia)
Benjamin Ree, The Painter and the Thief (Neon)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Robert S. Bader, Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Chris Bolan, A Secret Love (Netflix)
Melissa Haizlip, Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Arthur Jones, Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Elizabeth Leiter and Kim Woodard, Jane Goodall: The Hope (National Geographic)
Elizabeth Lo, Stray (Magnolia)
Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Rewind (Grizzly Creek Films/PBS Independent Lens)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Classics)
Roger Horrocks, My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky and Egil Håskjold Larsen, Gunda (Neon)
Scott Ressler, Neil Gelinas and Stefan Wiesen, The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Gianfranco Rosi, Notturno (Stemal Entertainment)
Ruben Woodin Dechamps, The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber)
BEST EDITING
Don Bernier, Athlete A (Netflix)
Eli Despres, Greg Finton and Kim Roberts, The Fight (Magnolia)
Lindy Jankura and Alex Keipper, Totally Under Control (Neon)
Helen Kearns, Assassins (Greenwich)
Victor Kossakovsky and Ainara Vera, Gunda (Neon)
Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh, Crip Camp (Netflix)
Charlotte Munch Bengtsen, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Classics)
BEST SCORE
Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope, Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders, The Way I See It (Focus)
Tyler Durham, Sven Faulconer and Xander Rodzinski, The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Peter Nashel and Brian Deming, Totally Under Control (Neon)
Daniel Pemberton, Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
Jeff Tweedy, Long Gone Summer (ESPN)
Jeff Tweedy, Spencer Tweedy and Sammy Tweedy, Showbiz Kids (HBO)
BEST NARRATION
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Netflix), David Attenborough, narrator/writer
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix), Kirsten Johnson, narrator/writer
Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Apple), Werner Herzog, narrator/writer
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions), Blair Underwood, narrator, Ellis Haizlip, writer
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix), Craig Foster, narrator/writer
Time (Amazon), Fox Rich, narrator/writer
Totally Under Control (Neon), Alex Gibney, narrator/writer
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Belushi (Showtime)
Class Action Park (HBO)
Crip Camp (Netflix)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)
BEST HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp (Netflix)
Howard (Disney+)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Production)
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix)
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (HBO)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Beastie Boys Story (Apple)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (Magnolia)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Laurel Canyon (Epix)
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (Magnolia)
Other Music (Factory 25)
Zappa (Magnolia)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
All In: The Fight for Democracy (Amazon)
Boys State (Apple)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Totally Under Control (Neon)
The Way I See It (Focus)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Coded Bias (7th Empire Media/PBS Independent Lens)
Fantastic Fungi (Moving Art)
Gunda (Neon)
I Am Greta (Hulu)
The Last Ice (National Geographic)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Athlete A (Netflix)
Be Water (ESPN)
A Most Beautiful Thing (50 Eggs Films)
Red Penguins (Universal)
Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Super LTD)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible (ESPN)
The Claudia Kishi Club (Netflix)
Crescendo! (Quibi)
Elevator Pitch (Field of Vision)
Hunger Ward (Spin Film/Vulcan Productions/RYOT Films)
Into the Fire (National Geographic)
My Father the Mover (MTV)
The Rifleman (Field of Vision)
The Speed Cubers (Netflix)
St. Louis Superman (MTV)
MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY (HONOR)
Dr. Rick Bright – Totally Under Control (Neon)
Steven Garza – Boys State (Apple)
The Go-Go’s – The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Judith Heumann – Crip Camp (Netflix)
Dick Johnson – Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher – Athlete A (Netflix)
Fox Rich – Time (Amazon)
Pete Souza – The Way I See It (Focus)
Taylor Swift – Miss Americana (Netflix)
Greta Thunberg – I Am Greta (Hulu)
