Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best Director explained

The Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best Director is one of the awards presented annually by Critics Choice Association since the awards debuted in 2016.

Winners and nominees

Table key

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Indicates the winner of Best Documentary Feature

2010s

Year	Director(s)	Film
2016			^[1] ^[2]
		Cameraperson
		Tower
		Gleason
		Life, Animated
2017		Cries from Syria	^[3]
		Long Strange Trip
		City of Ghosts
		California Typewriter
		Chasing Coral
		Beware the Slenderman
		Kedi
	and JR	Faces Places
2018		Won't You Be My Neighbor?	^[4] ^[5]
	and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi	Free Solo
		Minding the Gap
		Dark Money
		Hitler's Hollywood
		Three Identical Strangers
2019		They Shall Not Grow Old	^[6] ^[7]
	and Julia Reichert	American Factory
	and Edward Watts	For Sama
		The Biggest Little Farm
		The Cave
		Apollo 11
	and Jialing Zhang	One Child Nation

2020s

Year	Director(s)	Film
2020		Dick Johnson Is Dead	^[8] ^[9]
		Time
	and Jon Shenk	Athlete A
		Gunda
	and Nicole Newnham	Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
		The Painter and the Thief
2021	and Jimmy Chin	The Rescue	^[10]
		Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
		Becoming Cousteau
		Ascension
	and Traci A. Curry	Attica
		Flee
		The Sparks Brothers
2022		Good Night Oppy	^[11]
	and Michael Bonfiglio	George Carlin's American Dream
		Descendant
		Fire of Love
		Sidney
		Moonage Daydream
		All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
		Navalny

2023

• – Davis Guggenheim (Apple TV+)^[12]
  • The Eternal Memory – Maite Alberdi (MTV Documentary Films)
  • Beyond Utopia – Madeleine Gavin (Roadside Attractions)
  • American Symphony – Matthew Heineman (Netflix)
  • The Mission – Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss (National Geographic)
  • Occupied City – Steve McQueen (A24)

Multiple nominations

Nominations	Director
2	Jimmy Chin
	Kirsten Johnson
	Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: '13th,' 'O.J.: Made In America' & 'Gleason' Lead Nominations For First Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. October 10, 2016. October 21, 2021. Deadline Hollywood. Pete. Hammond.
2. Web site: 'O.J.: Made in America,' '13th' Top First Annual Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. Variety. November 3, 2016. October 21, 2021. Kristopher. Tapley.
3. Web site: Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: 'Kedi' Leads Nominations. The Hollywood Reporter. October 11, 2017. October 21, 2021. Kirsten. Chuba.
4. Web site: Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominees Announced: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' and 'Wild Wild Country' Lead Nods. October 15, 2018. October 21, 2021. IndieWire. Kate. Erbland.
5. Web site: Mr. Rogers Film 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Tops Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. The Hollywood Reporter. November 10, 2018. October 21, 2021. Hilary. Lewis.
6. Web site: 'Biggest Little Farm' Nabs Seven Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations. Variety. October 14, 2019. October 21, 2021. Tim. Gray.
7. Web site: Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: 'Apollo 11' Tops Winners List. The Hollywood Reporter. November 10, 2019. October 21, 2021. Kimberly. Nordyke. Annie. Howard.
8. Web site: Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations: 'Mr. Soul', 'Gunda', 'Crip Camp' And 'Totally Under Control' Top List. Deadline Hollywood. October 26, 2020. October 21, 2021. Pete. Hammond.
9. Web site: 'Dick Johnson Is Dead' Wins Best Feature at Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Variety. Jordan. Moreau. November 16, 2020. October 21, 2021.
10. Web site: Critics Choice Documentary Awards: 'Summer of Soul' and 'Ascension' Lead With 6 Nominations Each. The Hollywood Reporter. Scott. Feinberg. October 18, 2021. October 21, 2021.
11. Web site: 'Good Night Oppy' Wins Top Prize at Critics Choice Documentary Awards. The Hollywood Reporter. Kimberly. Nordyke. November 13, 2022. November 13, 2022.
12. Web site: ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ Sweeps the Critics Choice Documentary Awards (Complete Winners List). IndieWire. Christian. Zilko. November 12, 2023. November 13, 2023.