Ava DuVernay’s ’14th’ Leads Critics Choice Documentary Award Nominations

Ava DuVernay’s “14th” led all films with six nominations for the 11th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, the Critics Choice Association announced on Tuesday. The wide-ranging film about the 14th amendment to the U.S. constitution, and the way it is being undermined today by the Trump administration, received nominations in the Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music Score, Best Political Documentary and Best Historical Documentary categories. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s freewheeling Elizabeth Holmes documentary, “You Can See Everything,” was one of three films that earned five nominations, along with David Greaves’ “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” and Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman “Nuisance Bear.” “Everest: The Other Side,” “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” “The History of Concrete,” “Rehearsals for a Revolution,” “Remake” and “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” received four nominations each. The high-profile docs “Musk” and “NAZA” received three nominations each, while Morgan Neville’s “Man on the Run” and “Lorne” received two and Questlove’s “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World),” Ron Howard’s “Avedon,” Werner Herzog’s “Ghost Elephants,” Barbara Kopple’s “Union Town,” Lawrence Kasdan’s “Marty, Life Is Short” and Judd Apatow’s “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” each earned one. Over the first 10 years of the Critics Choice Documentary Awards’ existence, 26 of its 113 nominees in the Best Documentary Feature category have gone on to receive an Oscar nomination, and 59 of them have made the Oscar shortlist. As the Academy’s Documentary Branch has gotten increasingly international and increasingly adventurous, the overlap between the two bodies has lessened, with Critics Choice voters going for more mainstream films and fewer international ones. Since 2019, 75% of the Critics Choice nominees in the top category have been American-made docs, compared to less than 29% of the Oscar nominees. The winners will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. Also at that ceremony, Howard will be presented with the Critics Choice Impact Award, while Jehane Noujaim will receive the Pennebaker Award from Chris Hegedus, the widow and collaborator of D.A. Pennebaker. Nominees were chosen by volunteer committees from the membership of the Critics Choice Association, which represents more than 500 critics and entertainment journalists. 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 DIRECTORYuval Abraham & Rachel Szor – “NAZA” (The Guardian / mk2 films)Felipe Bustos Sierra – “Everybody to Kenmure Street” (Icarus Films)Ava DuVernay – “14th” (Netflix)Nathan Fielder & 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 FEATUREDavid Greaves – “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (Neon)Baz Luhrmann – “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (Neon)Gabriela Osio Vanden & 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 CINEMATOGRAPHYDavid Bolen – “You Can See Everything” (A24)David Bolen & Matt Clegg – “The Python Hunt” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)Sophie Darlington – “Lion” (National Geographic)Franklin Dow – “The Cycle of Love” (Variance Films)Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman – “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)Clair Popkin, Jimmy Chin, Christopher Murphy – “Everest: The Other Side” (National Geographic Documentary Films) BEST EDITINGSpencer Averick – “14th” (Netflix)Anne de Mare & 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 & Caroline LindyPerformed by Daniel Roher & Caroline Lindy “The History of Concrete” (Magnolia Pictures)Written by John WilsonPerformed by John Wilson “Lorne” (Focus Features)Written by Morgan Neville, Alan Lowe, Jake HostetterPerformed by Chris Parnell “Nuisance Bear” (Mubi)Written by Mike Tunalaaq GibbonsPerformed by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (Sony Pictures Classics)Written by Pegah AhangaraniPerformed by Pegah Ahangarani “Remake” (Music Box Films)Written by Ross McElweePerformed by Ross McElwee BEST MUSIC SCOREAri 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, 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” (Mubi)“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)