The Critics Choice Association (CCA) unveiled the winners of the Ninth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards at a gala event in New York City on Sunday night. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Will & Harper” shared the top award of the evening, as the films tied for Best Documentary Feature. It was a huge night for “Super/Man,” which swept all six of its nominated categories, including wins for Best Director for Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, Best Editing for Otto Burnham, Best Score for Ilan Eshkeri, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Biographical Documentary.
“The Last of the Sea Women,” “Simone Biles Rising,”and “Sugarcane” each took home two awards. “The Last of the Sea Women” won the awards for Best Cinematography for Iris Ng, Eunson Choo, and Justin Turkowski, and Best Science/Nature Documentary. “Simone Biles Rising” won Best Sports Documentary and Best Limited Documentary Series. “Sugarcane” picked up Best Political Documentary and Best True Crime Documentary.
Natalie Rae and Angela Patton won Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s) for their work on “Daughters.” “Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” won for Best Narration, written and performed by Steve Martin. The trophy for Best Historical Documentary was awarded to “The Greatest Night in Pop.” Best Music Documentary went to “Music by John Williams.” The award for Best Short Documentary was presented to “The Only Girl in the Orchestra.” “30 for 30” took home the award for Best Ongoing Documentary Series.
At the ceremony, the Pennebaker Award was presented to acclaimed documentarian Rory Kennedy. The award is named in honor of D.A. Pennebaker, a past winner. It was presented to Kennedy by Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s long-time collaborator and widow.
The event was hosted by actor and longtime-event supporter Erich Bergen. Presenters and attendees included Ron Howard, Chelsea Clinton with Amanda Zurawski, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan, Lorraine Toussaint, Michael Cyril Creighton, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Ali Wentworth, R.J. Cutler, Lauren Greenfield, Andrew Jarecki, Ken Leung, Chai Vasarhelyi, and Marc Shaiman, among many others.
Christopher Campbell, Vice President of Documentaries of the Critics Choice Association said in an official statement, “Tonight brought about some wonderful surprises as we celebrated a fantastic array of documentaries and the remarkable people whose stories they told. Our ninth show was certainly our most inspiring yet. Congratulations to all the winners!”
The Critics Choice Association honors the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV, and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members. The ninth annual awards ceremony was produced by Bob Bain Productions.
The Catalyst Sponsors for the event were Amazon MGM Studios, National Geographic Documentary Films, Netflix, and “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.”
Check out the full list of winners below.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (TIE)
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
“Will & Harper” (Netflix)
BEST DIRECTOR
Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui – “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER(S)
Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – “Daughters” (Netflix)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Iris Ng, Eunsoo Cho, Justin Turkowski – “The Last of the Sea Women” (Apple TV+)
BEST EDITING
Otto Burnham – “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
BEST SCORE
Ilan Eshkeri – “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
BEST NARRATION
“Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces” (Apple TV+)
Written and performed by Steve Martin
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
“The Greatest Night in Pop” (Netflix)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
“Music by John Williams” (Walt Disney Studios)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
“Sugarcane” (National Geographic)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
“The Last of the Sea Women” (Apple TV+)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
“Simone Biles Rising” (Netflix)
BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
“Sugarcane” (National Geographic)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (Netflix)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“Simone Biles Rising” (Netflix)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
“30 for 30” (ESPN)
The Critics Choice Documentary Awards are an offshoot of the Critics Choice Awards, which are bestowed annually by the CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, the Critics Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.
The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony will be held on January 12, 2025 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA, hosted by Chelsea Handler. It will air live on E! and will be available the next day on Peacock.