10th Critics Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA): ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ Dominates with Five Wins
Geeta Gandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor was the big winner at the 10th Critics Choice Documentary Awards, taking home five honors including Best Documentary Feature, Best Director and Best Editing. The event was hosted by actor, writer, and producer Aasif Mandvi in New York City.
The Perfect Neighbor looks at the killing of Ajike Owens, a shooting incident on June 2, 2023 where a white woman, Susan Louise Lorincz, fatally shot Owens, her female black neighbor, in Ocala, Florida. The archival film tells its story through police body camera footage and interviews probing the aftermath of the state’s controversial “stand your ground” laws.
“Ten years in, and the art of documentary storytelling has never been more vital or vibrant,” said Christopher Campbell, Vice President of Documentary at the Critics Choice Association. “This year’s filmmakers show, through their creativity and courage, just how powerful documentaries can be in shaping our view of the world.”
Mr. Scorsese took home dual awards for Best Biographical Documentary and Best Limited Documentary Series.
Ocean with David Attenborough was another of the evening’s double award winners, earning trophies for Best Cinematography for Toby Strong and Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) and Best Science/Nature Documentary.
Orwell: 2+2=5 won the awards for Best Score for Alexei Aigui, and Best Narration written by George Orwell, adapted by Raoul Peck and performed by Damian Lewis.
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay won Best First Documentary Feature.
The American Revolution and Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time tied for Best Historical Documentary.
The Best Music Documentary category also resulted in a tie, with the honor shared between Becoming Led Zeppelin and Sly Lives!(aka The Burden of Black Genius).
In the Oscar race, the Critics Choice winner has historically had little correlation with the Academy Awards, actually being a negative more than a positive. While two Critics Choice winners have gone on to claim the Oscar for Documentary Feature, 2016’s O.J. Made in America and 2021’s Summer of Soul, all other eight winners weren’t even nominated.
Legendary documentary historian Ken Burns received the Critics Choice Impact Award, which recognizes documentarians whose work has illuminated our shared story, made complex issues accessible to broad audiences, and sparked meaningful dialogue that inspires reflection and action. Burns also won the competitive Historical Documentary award for The American Revolution in a tie with Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time.
Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady were the recipients of the CCA’s Pennebaker Award (formerly the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award) presented by Pennebaker’s widow and collaborator, Chris Hegedus. Named in tribute to trailblazing documentarian D A Pennebaker, the award celebrates filmmakers whose careers have made a profound and lasting contribution to the art of documentary storytelling.
Here is the complete list of winners.
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)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – WINNER
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 & Davis Guggenheim – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – WINNER
Andrew Jarecki & 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)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max) – WINNER
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 & Tor Edvin Eliassen – Folktales (Magnolia Pictures)
Brittany Shyne – Seeds (Interior Films)
Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) – Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic) – WINNER
BEST EDITING
Michael Harte – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
James Lester & Oz Rodríguez, John MacDonald (Music Montage) – Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (NBC)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – WINNER
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
Alexei Aigui – Orwell: 2+2=5 (NEON) – WINNER
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, & 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
Orwell: 2+2=5 (NEON) – WINNER
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)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – WINNER
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
Trains (EPF Media / Drygas Film Production)
WTO/99 (Foghorn Features)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY (tie)
The American Revolution (PBS) – WINNER
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic) – WINNER
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)
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV) – WINNER
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 (tie)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics) – WINNER
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)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu) – WINNER
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max) – WINNER
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)
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic) – WINNER
Octopus! (Prime Video)
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix) – WINNER
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)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) – WINNER
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 (Park County)
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space (Ironbound Films)
Sallie’s Ashes (Robi Creative)
Saving Superman (Switchboard) – WINNER
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)
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV) – WINNER
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN Films) – WINNER
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)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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