PGA Documentary Motion Picture Nominees Include ’20 Days in Mariupol,’ ‘American Symphony,’ ‘Beyond Utopia’

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for its 2024 Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures award.

This year’s nominated films are “20 Days in Mariupol,” about the Russian invasion of Ukraine; “American Symphony,” about musician Jon Batiste; “Beyond Utopia,” about the North Korean regime; “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” about feminist icon and author Shere Hite; “The Mother of all Lies,” about director Asmae El Moudir’s search for the truth of her family history; “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” about the bonds of sisterhood that form in the sauna; and “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis),” about Hipgnosis, the renowned designer of album covers.

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As per the awards description, the Producers Guild Awards “honors excellence in motion picture and television productions, as well as the most notable names in the industry who are shaping the producing profession.” Nominees will advance to the final voting round for the 35th annual awards. 2023 winners of the Outstanding Producer for Documentary Motion Pictures were Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris for their work on the political documentary “Navalny,” about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which went on to win the documentary Oscar.

Currently, the films are still being evaluated for individual producer eligibility. The full list of nominated films is as follows:

“20 Days in Mariupol” 

“American Symphony”

“Beyond Utopia”

“The Disappearance of Shere Hite” 

“The Mother of All Lies”

“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood”

“Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)”

Other categories of the awards include Sports, Children’s and Short Form Television Programs (nominees to be announced Friday), as well as Theatrical Motion Pictures, Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures, Television Series/Specials and Televised/Streamed Motion Pictures (nominees to be announced Jan. 12).

All winners will be recognized at the 35th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Feb. 25, in a ceremony produced by Anchor Street Collective and executive produced by Branden Chapman and Carleen Cappelletti. Awards writers are Jody Lambert, Lauren Cortizo and Matt Oberg. Event chairs are Mike Farah, chief executive officer at Funny or Die and Joe Farrell, chief creative officer at Funny or Die.

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