The 10th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards celebrated the year’s best in nonfiction filmmaking at a gala held in New York City on Sunday. The Perfect Neighbor was the night’s biggest winner, taking home five trophies including the top honor of Best Documentary Feature. The acclaimed true-crime film also earned awards for Best Director (Geeta Gandbhir), Best Editing (Viridiana Lieberman), Best Archival Documentary, and Best True Crime Documentary.
Other major winners included Mr. Scorsese, Ocean with David Attenborough, and Orwell: 2+2=5, which each scored two victories. Mr. Scorsese won for Best Biographical Documentary and Best Limited Documentary Series, while Ocean with David Attenborough triumphed in Best Cinematography and Best Science/Nature Documentary. Orwell: 2+2=5 earned awards for Best Score and Best Narration (Damian Lewis).
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My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay was named Best First Documentary Feature, and ties occurred in both the Best Historical Documentary and Best Music Documentary categories.
The evening also recognized legendary filmmaker Ken Burns with the Critics Choice Impact Award, presented by Christine Baranski, for his unparalleled contribution to documentary storytelling. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady received the Pennebaker Award, presented by Chris Hegedus, honoring their lasting influence on the artform. Hosted by Aasif Mandvi, the star-studded event featured presenters including Baranski, Mariska Hargitay, Peter Hermann, Raoul Peck, Questlove, Ben Stiller, and Soledad O’Brien.
Here is the complete winners list of the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards in all 18 categories:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press)
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
[winner] The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic)
BEST DIRECTOR
Mstyslav Chernov — 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press)
Petra Costa — Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim — Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
[winner] Geeta Gandbhir — The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman — The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Raoul Peck – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Art for Everybody (Tremolo Productions)
Grand Theft Hamlet (Mubi)
[winner] My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Seeds (Interior Films)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (Apple TV)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (Margot Station)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ben Bernard — Architecton (A24)
Jean Dakar — The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic)
Elizabeth Lo — Mistress Dispeller (Oscilloscope)
Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo and Tor Edvin Eliassen — Folktales (Magnolia Pictures)
Brittany Shyne — Seeds (Interior Films)
[winner] Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) — Ocean With David Attenborough (National Geographic)
BEST EDITING
Michael Harte — Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
James Lester and Oz Rodríguez, John MacDonald (Music Montage) — Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (NBC)
[winner] Viridiana Lieberman — The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Page Marsella — The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Michelle Mizner — 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press)
Alexandra Strauss — Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST SCORE
[winner] Alexei Aigui — Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
Kris Bowers — The Eyes of Ghana (Breakwater Studios/Higher Ground Media)
Laura Heinzinger — The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Claudia Sarne — Love + War (National Geographic)
Sam Slater — 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
Paweł Szymański — Trains (EPF Media/Drygas Film Production)
BEST NARRATION
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press)
—Written by Mstyslav Chernov; performed by Mstyslav Chernov
The American Revolution (PBS)
—Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; performed by Peter Coyote
The Americas (NBC)
— Written by Michael Gunton, Holly Spearing, Steve Cole, Kathryn Jeffs, Matt Richards, Giles Badger, Victoria Buckley, Alex Griffiths, Hannah Hoare, Poppy Riddle, Gillian Taylor, Nikki Waldron, Evie Wright, Charlotte Bostock, Victoria Bobin, and Ingrid Kvale; performed by Tom Hanks
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
—Written by Petra Costa; performed by Petra Costa
Octopus! (Prime Video)
—Written by Gabriel Bisset-Smith; performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
[winner] Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
—Written by George Orwell, Adapted by Raoul Peck; performed by Damian Lewis
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
One to One: John & Yoko (Magnolia Pictures)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
[winner] The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
Trains (EPF Media/Drygas Film Production)
WTO/99 (Foghorn Features)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
[winner-tie] The American Revolution (PBS)
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
[winner-tie] Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)
Number One on the Call Sheet (Apple TV)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
Love + War (National Geographic)
[winner] Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (Apple TV)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
[winner-tie] Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics)
Billy Joel: And So It Goes (HBO Max)
Bono: Stories of Surrender (Apple TV)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (Magnolia Pictures)
Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (NBC)
[winner-tie] Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
[winner] The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
The Librarians (Independent Lens)
My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow (Marminchilla)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Americas (NBC)
Checkpoint Zoo (Abramorama)
The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (National Geographic)
[winner] Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
Octopus! (Prime Video)
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
[winner] America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys (Netflix)
Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024 (ESPN Films)
Full Court Press (ESPN+)
Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott (ESPN)
We Beat the Dream Team (HBO Max)
BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
[winner] The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Predators (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (Netflix)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
All the Empty Rooms (Netflix)
Classroom 4 (PBS)
The Devil Is Busy (HBO Max)
Exodus (Message Pictures)
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space (Ironbound Films)
Sallie’s Ashes (Robi Creative)
[winner] Saving Superman (Switchboard)
Shanti Rides Shotgun (Voyager)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The American Revolution (PBS)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)
Magic City: An American Fantasy (Starz)
[winner] Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
[winner] 30 for 30 (ESPN Films)
American Masters (PBS)
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV)
Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross (Roku Channel)
Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
Trainwreck (Netflix)
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