‘Dick Johnson is Dead’ named Best Documentary by Critics Choice, ‘Boys State’ is Best Political Doc

The Kristen Johnson film Dick Johnson is Dead, which documents, usually with mordant humor, the potentials deaths of her declining father, was chosen as the Best Documentary Feature of 2020 by the Critics Choice. Johnson was also named Best Director.

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards are an off-shoot of The Critics Choice Awards, which are given annually by the CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and televised/streaming achievement. For the last three years, the winner here (Jane, Won’t You be My Neighbor and Apollo 11) ended up being snubbed at the Oscars.

The group celebrates documentary film in over a dozen categories including Best Historical/Biographical Documentary (John Lewis: Good Trouble from Magnolia Pictures was the winner) and Best Political Documentary (which went to Apple’s Boys State) as well as technical elements of each including editing, score and cinematography.

My Octopus Teacher won two awards, Best Science Documentary and Best Cinematography and there was a tie for Best Music Doc between The Beastie Boys Story from Apple and The Go-Go’s from Showtime.

The 26th annual Critics Choice Awards will air LIVE on The CW Network on Sunday, March 7, 2021, with acclaimed film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs returning to host for his third consecutive time.  The show will continue its combined Film and Television awards format, honoring the finest in both cinematic and televised/streaming achievement.

Here is the full list of winners (in bold) of the Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Athlete A (Netflix)
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
The Fight (Magnolia Pictures)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Gunda (Neon)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
The Painter and the Thief (Neon)
A Secret Love (Netflix)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Time (Amazon Studios)

BEST DIRECTOR
Garrett Bradley – Time (Amazon Studios)
Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk – Athlete A (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson – Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky – Gunda (Neon)
James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dawn Porter – John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
Benjamin Ree – The Painter and the Thief (Neon)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Robert S. Bader – Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Chris Bolan – A Secret Love (Netflix)
Melissa Haizlip – Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Arthur Jones – Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Elizabeth Leiter and Kim Woodard – Jane Goodall: The Hope (National Geographic)
Elizabeth Lo – Stray (Magnolia Pictures)
Sasha Joseph Neulinger – Rewind (Grizzly Creek Films/PBS Independent Lens)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw – The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics)
Roger Horrocks – My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson – Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky and Egil Håskjold Larsen – Gunda (Neon)
Scott Ressler, Neil Gelinas and Stefan Wiesen – The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Gianfranco Rosi – Notturno (Stemal Entertainment)
Ruben Woodin Dechamps – The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber)

BEST EDITING
Don Bernier – Athlete A (Netflix)
Eli Despres, Greg Finton and Kim Roberts – The Fight (Magnolia Pictures)
Lindy Jankura and Alex Keipper – Totally Under Control(Neon)
Helen Kearns – Assassins (Greenwich Entertainment)
Victor Kossakovsky and Ainara Vera – Gunda (Neon)
Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Charlotte Munch Bengtsen – The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics)

BEST SCORE
Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope – Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders – The Way I See It (Focus Features)
Tyler Durham, Sven Faulconer and Xander Rodzinski – The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Peter Nashel and Brian Deming – Totally Under Control (Neon)
Daniel Pemberton – Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
Jeff Tweedy – Long Gone Summer (ESPN)
Jeff Tweedy – Spencer Tweedy and Sammy Tweedy, Showbiz Kids (HBO)

BEST NARRATION
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Netflix)
   David Attenborough, Narrator
   David Attenborough, Writer
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
   Kirsten Johnson, Narrator
   Kirsten Johnson, Writer
Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Apple)
   Werner Herzog, Narrator
   Werner Herzog, Writer
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
   Blair Underwood, Narrator
   Ellis Haizlip, Writer
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
   Craig Foster, Narrator
   Craig Foster, Writer
Time (Amazon Studios)
   Fox Rich, Narrator
   Fox Rich, Writer
Totally Under Control (Neon)
   Alex Gibney, Narrator
   Alex Gibney, Writer

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Belushi (Showtime)
Class Action Park (HBO)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)

BEST HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY 
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Howard (Disney+)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Production)
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix)
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (HBO)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Beastie Boys Story (Apple) (TIE)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (Magnolia Pictures)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime) (TIE)
Laurel Canyon (Epix)
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (Magnolia Pictures)
Other Music (Factory 25)
Zappa (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
All In: The Fight for Democracy (Amazon Studios)
Boys State (Apple)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Totally Under Control (Neon)
The Way I See It (Focus Features)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Coded Bias (7th Empire Media/PBS Independent Lens)
Fantastic Fungi (Moving Art)
Gunda (Neon)
I Am Greta (Hulu)
The Last Ice (National Geographic)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO) (TIE)
Athlete A (Netflix) (TIE)
Be Water (ESPN)
A Most Beautiful Thing (50 Eggs Films)
Red Penguins (Universal Pictures)
Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Super LTD)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible (ESPN)
   (Directors: Kristen Lappas and Tom Rinaldi. Producers: Craig Lazarus, José Morales, Lindsay Rovegno, Victor Vitarelli and Ben Webber)
The Claudia Kishi Club (Netflix)
   (Director and Producer: Sue Ding) 
Crescendo! (Quibi)
   (Director: Alex Mallis. Producers: Matt O’Neill and Perri Peltz)
Elevator Pitch (Field of Vision)
   (Director and Producer: Martyna Starosta)
Hunger Ward (Spin Film/Vulcan Productions/RYOT Films)
   (Director and Producer: Skye Fitzgerald. Producer: Michael Scheuerman) 
Into the Fire (National Geographic)
   (Director: Orlando von Einsiedel. Producers: Mark Bauch, Harri Grace and Dan Lin)
My Father the Mover (MTV Documentary Films)
   (Director: Julia Jansch. Producer: Mandilakhe Yengo)
The Rifleman (Field of Vision)
   (Director: Sierra Pettengill. Producer: Arielle de Saint Phalle)
The Speed Cubers (Netflix)
   (Director and Producer: Sue Kim. Producers: Evan Krauss and Chris Romano)
St. Louis Superman (MTV Documentary Films)
   (Directors and Producers: Sami Khan and Smriti Mundhra. Producer: Poh Si Teng)

MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY (HONOR)
Dr. Rick Bright – Totally Under Control (Neon)
Steven Garza – Boys State (Apple)
The Go-Go’s – The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Judith Heumann – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dick Johnson – Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher – Athlete A (Netflix)
Fox Rich – Time (Amazon)
Pete Souza – The Way I See It (Focus Features)
Taylor Swift – Miss Americana (Netflix)
Greta Thunberg – I Am Greta (Hulu)

Though this year’s gala event was not held in person due to the ongoing pandemic, special acceptance videos from each of the winners can be found by clicking the link HERE.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• 2024 North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Nominations - December 21, 2024
• 2024 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PFCC) Winners: ‘Anora’ Named Best Film Among its Six Awards - December 21, 2024
• 2024 Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA) Nominations - December 21, 2024