The Grierson Trust has published the nominations for the 50th anniversary British Documentary Awards in association with All3Media.
Five films have the distinction of nominations in two categories. They are:
· Uprising for Best History and Best Series categories
· The Reason I Jump for Best Single – International and Best Cinema categories
· Summer of Soul for Best Music and Best Cinema categories
· jeen-yuhs – A Kanye Trilogy for Best Music and Best Series categories
· Navalny for Best Cinema and Best Current Affairs categories
Ten broadcasters are recognised on the final nominations lists. The BBC dominates with 25 entries in the running overall. Netflix has seven, Channel 4 has six and Sky follows with four. National Geographic, ITV, iTunes with Prime Video, and Disney+ all have two whilst Apple+ and Prime Video alone have one each. The remainder is made up of festival and university screenings alongside theatrical releases.
The Best Presenter shortlist is made up of five names, all making their documentary presenter debuts. Ellie Simmonds for Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?; Jamie MacDonald and Jamie O’Leary for Blind Ambition; Joe Lycett for Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant; and, Sathnam Sangera for Empire State of Mind.
Emerging documentary talent is recognised in the Best Student Documentary category which feature films from students from London College of Communication, Newcastle University, University of Manchester and University of Greenwich.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 10th November hosted by comedian, Rosie Jones and TV presenter, AJ Odudu.
Lorraine Heggessey, chair of The Grierson Trust says: “As we celebrate The Grierson Trust’s 50th anniversary year, this stunning collection of nominations shows that the documentary is as vibrant and relevant as ever. The wide-ranging subject matter and overall excellence of these films is the reason documentaries earn their place on both long-standing broadcast channels and the newer platforms. These nominations also represent a perfect mix of established and emerging talent. I look forward to unveiling the winners at our awards ceremony in November.”
In addition to the 16 categories, there will also be two special awards including the Grierson Hero of the Year Award – presented to an individual nominated by their industry peers and judged by the Trustees to have made a positive impact within the industry over the last 12 months. And the Grierson Trustees Award, presented to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the art and craft of the documentary. This individual is chosen at the Trustees’ discretion.
The 2022 Full Shortlist:
Envy Best Single Documentary – Domestic
Grenfell: The Untold Story
Production team
BBC Studios – Channel 4
The Last Mountain
Chris Terrill, Julie Buckland, Olivia Lichtenstein, Julia Nottingham, Erica Banks, Annika Hagemann
Dorothy St Pictures, Uppercut Films, Globus Pictures – BBC
Mothers of the Revolution
Briar March, Matthew Metcalfe, Leela Menon, Helen Parker, Johnny Fewings, Fraser Brown
Universal Pictures Content Group – Theatrical release
A Space in Time
Nick Taussig, Riccardo Servini, Sophie Harmer
Salon Pictures in association with BFI, Bohemia Media, Reservoir Docs, BondIt, Buffalo 8 – Prime Video
Molinare Best Single Documentary – International
Dying to Divorce
Chloë Fairweather, Sinead Kirwan, Seda Gökçe, Özge Sebzeci, Paul Dosaj, Andrea Cuadrado
Dying to Divorce Ltd – Sky Documentaries
President
Camilla Nielsson, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Joslyn Barnes, Anne Köhncke, Anita Rehoff Larson, Danny Glover
Final Cut for Real, Louverture Films, Sant, Usant, BBC Storyville – BBC
The Reason I Jump
Jerry Rothwell, Stevie Lee, Jeremy Dear, Al Morrow
MetFilm Production, The Ideas Room, Runaway Fridge – Disney+
Writing with Fire
Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
Black Ticket Films – BBC
Televisual Best Current Affairs Documentary
BBC Africa Eye – Black Axe
Peter Macjob, Tom Saater, Sam Judah, Gary Beelders, Charlie Northcott, Tom Watson
BBC Africa Eye – BBC
Exposure – Afghanistan: No Country for Women
Ramita Navai, Karim Shah, Mark Summers, Eamonn Matthews, Ali Watt
Quicksilver Media – ITV
Four Hours at the Capitol
Jamie Robert, Will Grayburn, Dan Reed
Amos Pictures, HBO – BBC
Navalny
Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Odessa Rae, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris
CNN Films and HBO Max in association with Fishbowl Films, RaeFilm Studios, Cottage M – BBC
Best Arts Documentary
The Andy Warhol Diaries – Shadows: Andy & Jed
Andrew Rossi, Josh Braun, Ryan Murphy, Alexis Martin Woodall, Stanley Buchthal, Scott Robertson
Abstract Submarine – Netflix
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
Mariem Pérez Riera, Michael Kantor, Lyn Davis Lear, Norman Lear, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina K. Scully
Universal Pictures Content Group – iTunes/Prime Video
Salt, by Selina Thompson
Selina Thompson, Alison Ramsay, Kate Spankie, Damian Daniel, Lucy Pilkington, Denise Alder Milk and Honey Productions – BBC
The Story of Film: A New Generation
Mark Cousins, John Archer, Timo Langer, Clara Glynn
Hopscotch Films – Netflix
Sky Documentaries Best Music Documentary
Dawn Raid
Oscar Kightley, Matthew Metcalfe, Leela Menon
Universal Pictures Content Group – iTunes/Prime Video
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy – act i: VISION
Production team
A Netflix Documentary, a TIME Studios Production in association with Creative Control, Leah Natasha Productions – Netflix
Other, Like Me: The Oral History of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle
Marcus Werner Hed, Dan Fox, Mariko Montpetit, Annika Aschberg, Caitlin Maraffa
Willow Glen Films, BBC – BBC
Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)
Ahmire ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein, Joshua L Pearson
Onyx Collective, Concordia Studio, Play/Action Pictures, LarryBilly Productions, Mass Distraction Media, RadicalMedia, Vulcan Productions – Disney+
Red Bull Studios Best Sports Documentary
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
Production team
A Netflix Documentary Produced by Noah Media Group in association with Little Monster Films – Netflix
Citizen Ashe
Rex Miller, Sam Pollard, Beth Hubbard, Anna Godas, Steven Cantor, Jamie Schultz
Dogwoof, Rexpix Media, Stick Figure Productions – BBC
Gazza – Episode 1
Production team
Haviland Digital, Mark Stewart Productions, Western Edge Pictures, BBC – BBC
Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory – Revolution
Production team
Blast! Films – BBC
Best History Documentary
The Decade the Rich Won – Episode 1
Victoria James, Sam Collins, Jecca Powell, Alex Ayandele Pascall, Mike Radford
BBC Current Affairs, The Open University – BBC
Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11
David Belton, Bjørn Johnson, Hugo Godwin, Polly Allen, Helen Waddell
Yard 44, NBC News Studios – Sky Documentaries
The Missing Children
Tanya Stephan, Rachel Cumella, Paddy Garrick, Ella Newton, Brian Woods, Anne Morrison
True Vision, Nevision – ITV
Uprising – Episode 1
Production team
Rogan Productions, Lammas Park, Turbine Studios – BBC
The Open University Best Science Documentary
Dementia & Us – Episode 1
Paul Myles, Zoe Jewell, Dan Barraclough, Adam Robinson, Dreane Williams, Kezia Sheard
RDF, The Open University – BBC
Neutrino: Hunting the Ghost Particle
Henry Fraser, David Dugan, Ian Strang, Zoe Glover, Rosemary Cafferkey, Laety Ducom
Windfall Films – BBC
Positive – Episode 2
Grace Chapman, David Vincent, John Smithson, Lucie Ridout
Arrow Pictures – Sky Documentaries
A Year in the Ice: The Arctic Drift
Ashley Morris, Philipp Griess, Cameron Balbirnie, Gary Hunter, Angela Neillis, Nico Hofmann
Wild Blue Media, UFA Show & Factual, Fremantle Media – Channel 4
Discovery Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary
Becoming Cousteau
Liz Garbus, Mark Monroe, Pax Wassermann, Dan Cogan, Mridu Chandra, Evan Hayes
National Geographic Documentary Films, Story Syndicate, The Cousteau Society, Ace Content, Diamond Docs – National Geographic
The Green Planet: Tropical Worlds
Mike Gunton, Rupert Barrington, Paul Williams, James Taggart, Louis Rummer-Downing, Tim Shepherd
PBS, bilibili, ZDF, China Media Group CCTV9, France Télévisions, The Open University – BBC
Life at 50°C
Christopher Mitchell, Monica Garnsey, Namak Khoshnaw, Gavin Searle, Ceci Golding, Stephanie Stafford
BBC News Arabic Documentaries, BBC Current Affairs – BBC
My Garden of a Thousand Bees
David Allen, Martin Dohrn, Gaby Bastyra, Steve White, Fred Kaufman, David Elisco
Passion Planet, The WNET Group, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films – Sky Nature
Prime Video Best Entertaining Documentary
Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story – Episode 1
Production team
BBC Studios – BBC
This is Joan Collins
Clare Beavan, Karen Steyn, Paul van Dyck, Joan Collins, Nick Taussig, Annabel Wigoder
Salon Pictures – BBC
The Tinder Swindler
Felicity Morris, Sam Starbuck, Bart Layton, Julian Hart, Bernadette Higgins, Sian Packer
A Netflix Documentary, A Raw Production with Gaspin Media, AGC Studios in association with VG – Netflix
‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
Becky Read, Nic Zimmerman, Julia Nottingham, Lisa Gomer Howes, Ellie Phillips, Jane Bevan
Dorothy St Pictures – Apple TV+
BFI Doc Society Fund Best Cinema Documentary
The First Wave
Matthew Heineman, Jenna Millman, Leslie Norville
National Geographic Documentary Films, Neon, Participant, Our Time Projects – Theatrical release
Navalny
Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris
CNN Films and HBO Max in association with Fishbowl Films, RaeFilm Studios, Cottage M – Theatrical release
The Reason I Jump
Jerry Rothwell, Stevie Lee, Jeremy Dear, Al Morrow
MetFilm Production, The Ideas Room, Runaway Fridge – Theatrical release
Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)
Ahmire ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein, Joshua L Pearson
Onyx Collective, Concordia Studio, Play/Action Pictures, LarryBilly Productions, Mass Distraction Media, RadicalMedia, Vulcan Productions – Theatrical release
Netflix Best Documentary Series
9/11: One Day in America
Daniel Bogado, Caroline Marsden, David Glover, Ella Wright, Julian Jones, Chris Nicholls
72 Films – National Geographic
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy
Production team
A Netflix Documentary, a TIME Studios Production in association with Creative Control, Leah Natasha Productions – Netflix
Jeremy Kyle Show: Death on Daytime
Kira Phillips, Graeme McAulay, Barry Ronan, Rosina Andreou, Charlie MacDonald, Abi Walker
Blast! Films – Channel 4
Uprising
Production team
Rogan Productions, Lammas Park, Turbine Studios – BBC
Channel 4 Best Constructed Documentary Series
The Dog House
Production team
Five Mile Films – Channel 4
Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star
Melissa Brown, Robin Trump, David Cheeseman, Zinia Scroggs, Francesca Maudsley, Leah Caffrey
Wall to Wall Media – BBC
Idris Elba’s Fight School
Michelle Chappell, Rick Murray, Rachael Barnes, Itamar Klasmer, Hassan Ghazi, Emma Linstead
Workerbee, Green Door – BBC
We Are Black and British
Narinder Minhas, Becky Clarke, Rebecca Nunn, Lindsay Davies, Ryan Samuda, Jessica Mitchell
Cardiff Productions, The Open University – BBC
Fullwell 73 Best Documentary Short
The Bayview
Daniel Cook, Marcy Paterson
MTP, SDI – Bridging the Gap for – London Short Film Festival
Freedom Swimmer
Olivia Martin-McGuire, Brooke Silcox, Ron Dyens
No-Thing Productions, Sacrebleu Productions – Festival release
Nsenene
Michelle Coomber, Xavi Amoros, Jim Wright
Medina Films – New Yorker
Three Songs for Benazir
Gulistan Mirzaei, Elizabeth Mirzaei, Omar Mullick, Homayoun Noori, Jamil Rezaei, Stephen Maing
A Netflix Documentary – Netflix
All3Media Best Student Documentary
Daughters of the Sea
Laura Esteban, Eric Berman
London College of Communication
Ordinary Life
Luke Suddes, Katharine Beavers, Dalene Low, Harrison So
Newcastle University
Ten by Ten
Jami L Bennett
University of Manchester
Traded
Harshit Bawa, Monika Arora, Solmi Kim, Simran Arora
University of Greenwich
Disney+ Best Documentary Presenter
ELLIE SIMMONDS for Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?Flicker Productions – BBC
JAMIE MACDONALD & JAMIE O’LEARY for Blind Ambition
Television Repairs – BBC
JOE LYCETT for Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant
Rumpus Media – Channel 4
SATHNAM SANGHERA for Empire State of Mind
Sandpaper Films – Channel 4
Pippa Considine
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