2023 Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations: ‘American Symphony’ leads with 6 bids

John Benutty
·7 min read

The Critics Choice Association just unveiled the nominees for its 8th annual documentary awards. Topping the list is “American Symphony” with six bids, including Best Documentary, Best Director for Matthew Heineman, and notices in Cinematography, Editing, and Music Documentary. Heineman is the Oscar nominated director of “Cartel Land” from 2015. The sixth nomination for “American Symphony” is for Best Score thanks to 2022’s Grammy Award recipient for Album of the Year, Jon Batiste. You may recognize another AOTY winner in the CCDA’s lineup — Taylor Swift‘s record breaking concert movie “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is also nominated for Music Documentary.

Just behind “American Symphony” are three films that received five nominations each: “20 Days in Mariupol” from Mstyslav Chernov, “Kokomo City” from D. Smith, and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” from Davis Guggenheim, who is also nominated for Director. The other directors that were heralded for their films are Maite Alberdi (“The Eternal Memory”), Madeleine Gavin (“Beyond Utopia”), Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (“The Mission”), and Steve McQueen (“Occupied City”).

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In 2022, “Fire of Love” was the most nominated film by CCDA and it went on to be Oscar-nominated. Also nominated was “Navalny,” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The CCDA went in a different direction last year though, anointing “Good Night Oppy” with its top prize, though that film failed to make any other waves in the race. In its first seven years, the CCDA and Oscar winners have matched only twice: in 2021 with “Summer of Soul” and 2016 with “O.J.: Made in America.”

Winners will be revealed on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at The Edison Ballroom in Manhattan. The ceremony will be hosted for the second year in a row by longtime event supporter, actor, and standup comedian Wyatt Cenac.

See the full list of 2023 nominees below.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
American Symphony (Netflix)
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
The Mission (National Geographic)
Stamped from the Beginning (Netflix)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)

BEST DIRECTOR

Maite Alberdi – The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Davis Guggenheim – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)
Matthew Heineman – American Symphony (Netflix)
Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss – The Mission (National Geographic)
Steve McQueen – Occupied City (A24)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
26.2 to Life (Film Halau)
Bad Press (Oklafilm)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Orlando, My Political Biography (Sideshow)
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Greenwich Entertainment)
The Thief Collector (FilmRise)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Tim Cragg – The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
Tony Hardmon, Matthew Heineman, Thorsten Thielow – American Symphony (Netflix)
Lennert Hillege – Occupied City (A24)
Franz Lustig – Anselm (Sideshow)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Toby Strong, James Boon, Bob Poole, Neil Fairlie, Wim Vorster, Joshua Tarr, Pete Allibone, Neil Harvey, Andreas Knausenberger – Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)

BEST EDITING

Sammy Dane, Jim Hession, Matthew Heineman, Fernando Villegas – American Symphony (Netflix)
Madeleine Gavin – Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Michael Harte – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+
Michelle Mizner – 20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)
Aaron Wickenden – The Mission (National Geographic)

BEST SCORE

Jon Batiste – American Symphony (Netflix)
Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans – The Mission (National Geographic)
Nainita Desai – The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
Philip Glass & Paul Leonard-Morgan – The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+)
Katya Richardson & Kris Bowers – The Last Repair Shop (Breakwater Studios)
D. Smith – Kokomo City (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST NARRATION

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS); Written and Performed by Mstyslav Chernov
32 Sounds (Abramorama); Written and Performed by Sam Green
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films); Written by Nicole Newnham and Performed by Dakota Johnson
Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+); Performed by Kiefer Sutherland
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic); Written by Martin Williams and Performed by Natalie Portman
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+); Written and Performed by Michael J. Fox

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO | Max)
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films)
It Ain’t Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

The 1619 Project (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
Lakota Nation vs. United States (IFC Films)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
Occupied City (A24)
Stamped from the Beginning (Netflix)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO | Max)
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC Films)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO Documentary Films)
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Studios)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu/ABC News Studios)
Sly (Netflix)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

American Symphony (Netflix)
Carlos (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop (Netflix)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia Pictures/CNN Films)
Love to Love You, Donna Summer (HBO | Max)
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (AMC Theatres)
What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? (Abramorama)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

20 Days in Mariupol (PBS)
Beyond Utopia (Roadside Attractions)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
Every Body (Focus Features)
Lakota Nation vs. United States (IFC Films)
Silver Dollar Road (Amazon MGM Studios)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

32 Sounds (Abramorama)
Between Earth & Sky (PBS)
Life on Our Planet (Netflix)
Path of the Panther (National Geographic)
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Netflix)
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)
Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West (Gravitas Ventures)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Black Ice (Roadside Attractions)
BS High (HBO | Max)
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
It Ain’t Over (Sony Pictures Classics)
The League (Magnolia Pictures)
Reggie (Amazon Studios)
Stephen Curry: Underrated (Apple TV+)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY

Burden of Proof (HBO | Max)
The Jewel Thief (Hulu)
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+)
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
Telemarketers (HBO | Max)
The Thief Collector (FilmRise)
Victim/Suspect (Netflix)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

The ABCs of Book Banning (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
The Barber of Little Rock (Story Syndicate)
Between Earth & Sky (PBS)
Keys to the City (New Yorker)
The Last Repair Shop (Breakwater Studios)
Last Song From Kabul (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The 1619 Project (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (Netflix)
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (Apple TV+)
Secrets of the Elephants (National Geographic)
Shiny Happy People (Amazon Studios)
Telemarketers (HBO | Max)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)
Frontline (PBS)
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Netflix)
POV (PBS)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

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