2026 Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award Documentary Nominees: ‘Cover-Up,’ ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ and More
Today, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the nominees for Documentary Motion Pictures and finalists for the PGA Innovation Award. As part of the 37th Annual Producers Guild Awards, these categories recognize productions that demonstrate exceptional achievement in documentary filmmaking, and significant accomplishments in the application of emerging technology. The winner of the Documentary Motion Picture will be named during the awards ceremony on Saturday, February 28 at the Fairmont Century Plaza. The winner of the PGA Innovation Award will be announced at a pre-awards ceremony reception in Los Angeles on Thursday, February 26.
The Producers Guild Awards recognize excellence in production across motion pictures, television, and emerging media, as well as the leading figures whose contributions continue to define the producing profession. Acclaimed producers to be honored at this year’s ceremony include Amy Pascal (David O. Selznick Achievement Award), Mara Brock Akil (Norman Lear Achievement Award) and Jason Blum (Milestone Award).
“Across all categories, the Producers Guild Awards celebrate the vital job of producing, and the noteworthy contributions that honorees have made to the industry,” said Producers Guild of America Presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line. “The PGA is proud to recognize the extraordinary producers and teams whose work reflects their remarkable dedication and commitment to excellence.”
Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures
The films nominated for Documentary Motion Pictures are listed below in alphabetical order.
The Alabama Solution (HBO Documentary Films)
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (Made in Copenhagen)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Documentary Films)
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic)
These films are in the process of being vetted for individual producer eligibility. Productions released between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 were eligible for consideration. One nominee from each production will also be featured in a virtual roundtable conversation, which will be livestreamed on the Producers Guild YouTube channel on Tuesday, February 25.
Last year, producers Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, Ian Bonhôte, received the award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Picture for “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” which followed the film star’s rise to fame and his activism for spinal cord injury treatments and disability rights following the near-fatal horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
The PGA Innovation Award Finalists
The finalists for the PGA Innovation Award are listed below in alphabetical order.
ASTEROID (Doug Liman’s 30 Ninjas / Google’s 100 Zeros)
Big Wave: No Room for Error (Cosm)
D-Day: The Camera Soldier (TARGO / TIME Studios)
territory (Double Eye Studios / Kinetic Light)
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere (Sphere Entertainment Co.)
Productions released between October 1, 2024 and October 1, 2025 were eligible for consideration. The PGA Innovation Award is presented to the production as a whole, not to individual producers. As such, the producers are not subject to the PGA eligibility determination process.
In 2025, “Orbital” was named winner of the PGA Innovation Award, produced by Cosm Studios, Planetary Collective, and Kuva.
The Innovation Award honors exceptional distinctiveness, inventiveness, and impact in expanding the conventions of program format, content, audience interaction, production technique and delivery. The expansion of programming around the PGA Innovation Award underscores the guild’s mission of recognizing and embracing innovation and emerging technologies utilized by producers.
Winners will be selected by a jury co-led by Maureen Fan (Co-Founder & CEO of Baobab Studios), Joanna Popper (Executive Producer, Finding Pandora X, Breonna’s Garden, Master of Light) and Angela Russo-Otstot (Chief Creative Officer of AGBO).
“Producers have long been central to determining how emerging technologies can be applied responsibly to support ambitious storytelling,” said Fan, Popper, and Russo-Ostot. “The producing teams recognized as finalists demonstrate a clear commitment to exploring new possibilities across mediums, exemplifying how innovative approaches and technical ingenuity can create meaningful new opportunities for artists and audiences.”
For the second year, PGA members will have an opportunity to explore and engage with all finalists and interact with some of their producers at the PGA Innovation Award Finalists Showcase, which will be hosted by AGBO on their downtown Los Angeles campus on Saturday, January 31. Each of the finalists will also be featured in Produced By Magazine and their producers will participate in “A Conversation with the Finalists for the 2026 PGA Innovation Award,” a virtual panel in January.
Nominees for Sports, Children’s and Short Form will be announced this Friday, December 12. The nominees for Theatrical Motion Pictures, Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures, Television Series/Specials, and Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures will be announced on Friday, January 9.
The 2026 Producers Guild Awards Event Chairs are Mike Farah and Joe Farrell. The 2026 Producers Guild Awards are produced by Anchor Street Collective. Branden Chapman is executive producer, and Carleen Cappelletti is co-executive producer. Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis is PR agency of record, and Diane Salerno manages sponsorships.
Sponsors of the 2026 Producers Guild Awards include McLaren, the Official Vehicle; Delta Air Lines, the Official Airline; Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky; and GreenSlate.
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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