Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Ava Duvernay’s “14th” Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards with 6 Nominations: Nods for “Musk,” “Ask E. Jean,” “Naza”

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★ Make Showbiz411 your Preferred Source on GoogleAva Duvernay’s “14th” got six nominations and led the pack for the Critics Choice Documentary Awards. The awards will be given out on November 8th in New York. Ron Howard is getting the Critics Choice Impact Award. Visionary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, previously announced as the recipient of the CCA’s Pennebaker Award, will have the honor presented by Pennebaker’s widow and collaborator, Chris Hegedus. On a personal note, it’s a great list. Congrats to all the nominees!

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

14th (Netflix)

Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Everybody to Kenmure Street (Icarus Films)

The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)

Musk (Bleecker Street)

NAZA (The Guardian / mk2 films)

Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)

Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)

Remake (Music Box Films)

You Can See Everything (A24)

BEST DIRECTOR

Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor – NAZA (The Guardian / mk2 films)

Felipe Bustos Sierra – Everybody to Kenmure Street (Icarus Films)

Ava DuVernay – 14th (Netflix)

Nathan Fielder & Lance Oppenheim – You Can See Everything (A24)

Ross McElwee – Remake (Music Box Films)

Orlando von Einsiedel – The Cycle of Love (Variance Films)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

David Greaves – Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)

Baz Luhrmann – EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)

Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman – Nuisance Bear (Mubi)

Xander Robin – The Python Hunt (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Poh Si Teng – American Doctor (Watermelon Pictures)

John Wilson – The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

David Bolen – You Can See Everything (A24)

David Bolen & Matt Clegg – The Python Hunt (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Sophie Darlington – Lion (National Geographic)

Franklin Dow – The Cycle of Love (Variance Films)

Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman – Nuisance Bear (Mubi)

Clair Popkin, Jimmy Chin, Christopher Murphy – Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST EDITING

Spencer Averick – 14th (Netflix)

Anne de Mare & Lynn True – Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)

Adam Locke-Norton – You Can See Everything (A24)

Colin Monie – Everybody to Kenmure Street (Icarus Films)

Jonathan Redmond – EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)

Cori Wapnowska – The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST NARRATION

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (Focus Features)

Written by Daniel Roher & Caroline Lindy
Performed by Daniel Roher & Caroline Lindy

The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures)
Written by John Wilson
Performed by John Wilson

Lorne (Focus Features)
Written by Morgan Neville, Alan Lowe, Jake Hostetter
Performed by Chris Parnell

Nuisance Bear (Mubi)
Written by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons

Performed by Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons

Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)
Written by Pegah Ahangarani
Performed by Pegah Ahangarani

Remake (Music Box Films)
Written by Ross McElwee
Performed by Ross McElwee

BEST MUSIC SCORE

Ari Balouzian – You Can See Everything (A24)

Dan Deacon – Time and Water (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Caroline Ho – Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Jason Moran – 14th (Netflix)

Cristóbal Tapia de Veer – Nuisance Bear (Mubi)

Hans Zimmer, Niccolò Pacella, George Hutson Warren – Lion (National Geographic)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World) (HBO Max)

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)

Man on the Run (Amazon MGM Studios)

Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Peter Asher: Everywhere Man (Greenwich Entertainment)

Sara Bareilles: Good Grief (Group Effort Films / Naked Edge Films)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

14th (Netflix)

American Doctor (Watermelon Pictures)

Ask E. Jean (Abramorama)

Everybody to Kenmure Street (Icarus Films)

Musk (Bleecker Street)

NAZA (The Guardian / mk2 films)

Union Town (Cabin Creek Films)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

14th (Netflix)

Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)

Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)

SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of (Netflix)

Soul Patrol (Kino Lorber)

Turning Point: Generation 9/11 (Netflix)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

Avedon (Netflix)

Jean-Michel Basquiat (Netflix)

Lorne (Focus Features)

Marty, Life Is Short (Netflix)

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (HBO Max)

Musk (Bleecker Street)

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon)

Making Marie Antoinette (Mubi)

Man on the Run (Amazon MGM Studios)

Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon)

Rehearsals for a Revolution (Sony Pictures Classics)

Remake (Music Box Films)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (Focus Features)

Ghost Elephants (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Lion (National Geographic)

Nuisance Bear (Mubi)

Secrets of the Bees (National Geographic)

Time and Water (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

The Dynasty: UConn Huskies (Apple TV)

Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Give Me the Ball! (ESPN)

Rafa (Netflix)

Standout: The Ben Kjar Story (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Tyson (Netflix)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY

Baby Doe (Narrative Distribution)

Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story (Dark Star Pictures)

The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (Netflix)

A Killer Story (HBO Max)

Lost Women of Alaska (Investigation Discovery)

Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Max)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

The Baddest Speechwriter of All (Netflix)

A Derailment (POV)

Escalation (Bonfire Films)

Miller Night Football (HBO Max)

Oh Whale (The New Yorker / Switchboard Magazine)

The Second Life of Freddie Nole (Sweet World Films)

A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil (archilux)

They’re Here (Praxis Films)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

9/11: Reunited (National Geographic)

The Dark Wizard (HBO Max)

The Dynasty: UConn Huskies (Apple TV)

High Horse: The Black Cowboy (Peacock)

Lion (National Geographic)

The Man Will Burn (HBO Max)

Rafa (Netflix)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)

American Masters (PBS)

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)

The Food That Built America (History)

Hazardous History with Henry Winkler (History)

Independent Lens (PBS)

Untold (Netflix)

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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