Ava DuVernay’s 14th leads the field with six nominations for the 11th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards announced on Tuesday. Fall festival hit NAZA and History Of Concrete, the US box office success story that is about to cross $2m at the North American box office, are also in contention for best film, among other categories.
DuVernay’s film at Netflix, which explores the US amendment that enshrines birthright citizenship and other civil rights protections, is also nominated for director, editing, music score, political documentary, and historical documentary.
As previously announced, Ron Howard will receive the Critics Choice Impact Award and filmmaker Jehane Noujaim the CCA’s Pennebaker Award (formerly the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award).
Feature-length documentaries, two-part documentaries, and short-form documentaries are eligible for nomination so long as they were first released commercially in the US between January 1 and December 31, 2026, either theatrically or by broadcast, cable, or streaming.
The winners will be announced at a gala event on November 8 at The Edison Ballroom in Manhattan.
Select nominees for 11th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards
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 & 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 Feature
David 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 Cinematography
David 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 Editing
Spencer 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)
The History Of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)
Lorne (Focus Features)
Nuisance Bear (Mubi)Written by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons
Rehearsals For A Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)
Remake (Music Box Films)
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, 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).
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