The Grierson Trust has announced the nominations for the 2021 British Documentary Awards, which see Sir David Attenborough and Katie Price nominated in the Best Single Documentary – Domestic category, for Silverback Films’ A Life on Our Planet and Minnow Films’ Harvey and Me.
The BBC has 23 nominations, dominating this year’s awards, which are held in association with All3Media and digital partners Little Dot Studios.
Netflix, with 10 nominations leads Channel 4 which has seven. Sky has three, ITV two and Apple TV+, PBS, HBO and S4C awarded one apiece. The remainder is made up of festival and university screenings alongside theatrical releases.
Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of The Grierson Trust says: “This highlights the significance and popularity of the documentary genre to both long standing channels and newer providers like the streamers.”
Films about racism and climate change are well represented, with Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me, Take Your Knee Off My Neck: My First Time and The School That Tried to End Racism shining the spotlight on racism and Sir David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet and Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline exploring the impact of climate change.
The newly created sports category sees nominations for Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me, Athlete A, Finding Jack Charlton and Gods of Snooker.
Meanwhile, in the new music category Gen X icon Billy Eilish’s film The World’s a Little Blurry competes for honours alongside films about rappers The Notorious B.I.G and Digga D and the late punk icon Poly Styrene.
The 56 shortlisted films and five presenters will now go forward to judging ahead of the 49th annual awards ceremony on 10th November.
In addition to the 15 categories, there will also be a new special award – 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.
The 2021 Full Shortlist:
Envy Best Single Documentary – Domestic
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Jonnie Hughes, Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey & Colin Butfield
Silverback Films & WWF Production — Netflix
Defending Digga D
Marian Mohamed, Samuel R. Santana & Emma Wakefield
Lambent Productions — BBC Three
Katie Price: Harvey and Me
Hannah Lowes, Cath Boggan, Sophie Leonard & Tom Dixon-Spain
Minnow Films — BBC One
Locked In: Breaking the Silence
Xavier Alford, Colette Hodges, Sacha Mirzoeff, Poppy Goodheart, Iris Maor & Jane Zurakowski
Marble Films – BBC Four
Molinare Best Single Documentary – International
Collective: Unravelling a Scandal
Alexander Nanau, Bianca Oana, Bernard Michaux, Hanka Kastelicova & Antoaneta Opriș
Alexander Nanau Production – BBC Four
Father Soldier Son
Production team
A Netflix Original Documentary & A New York Times Production — Netflix
The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo (Las Tres Muertes de Marisela Escobedo)
Axel Padraza, Ricardo Pory, Sara Rafsky, Ivonne Gutirrez, Laura Woldnberg & Carlos Pérez Osorio
A Vice Studios Latin America & Scopio Production – Netflix
Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge
David France, Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin, Askold Kurov, Tyler H. Walk & Igor Myakotin
Public Square Films – BBC Four
Televisual Best Current Affairs Documentary
In Cold Blood
Marcus Plowright, Celia Watson, Diene Petterle, Nina Davies, Leigh Brzeski & Alex Parsons
Darlow Smithson Productions – ITV
Return From ISIS: A Family’s Story
Joshua Baker, Karen Wightman, Raney Aronson-Rath, Dan Edge, Leo Telling & Nuvine Ibrahim
Mongoose & BBC Panorama – BBC One
Undercover in the Schools that Chain Boys
Fath Al-Rahman Al-Hamdani, Jessica Kelly, Mamdouh Akbiek, Bettina Waked, Simon Cox & Mustafa Khalili
BBC News Arabic Documentaries – BBC Arabic
Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge
David France, Alice Henty, Joy A. Tomchin, Askold Kurov, Tyler H. Walk & Igor Myakotin
Public Square Films – BBC Four
Storm Best Arts Documentary
African Apocalypse
Rob Lemkin, Femi Nylander, Geoff Arbourne, David Upshal, Matt McConaghy & David Charap
Inside Out Films & Lemkino Pictures – BBC Two
Imagine… Lemn Sissay: The Memory of Me
John O’Rourke, Tanya Hudson, Alan Yentob & Kirsty Breetzke
BBC Studios, The Documentary Unit – BBC One
Keith Haring: Street Art Boy
Ben Anthony, Janet Lee, Alice Rhodes & Paul Van Dyck
BBC Studios, The Documentary Unit – BBC Two
The Painter and the Thief
Benjamin Ree & Ingvil Giske
Sky Arts
Sky Documentaries Best Music Documentary
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
Production team
A Netflix Original Documentary — Netflix
Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
R.J. Cutler, Trevor Smith, Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson & Anthony Seyler
Apple, Interscope Films, The Darkroom, This Machine & Lighthouse Management & Media – Apple TV+
Defending Digga D
Marian Mohamed, Samuel R. Santana & Emma Wakefield
Lambent Productions — BBC Three
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Daria Nitsche, Celeste Bell, Paul Sng, Zoe Howe & Xanna Ward Dixon
A Sky Original Documentary in association with Tyke Films & Poly Doc Films – Sky Arts
Best Sports Documentary
Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me
Sian Guerra, Agata Krasicka, Jeremy Lee, Wendie Ottewill, James Ross & Wesley Thomas
New Era Television & Wonder Television – BBC One
Athlete A
Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, Serin Marshall, Jennifer Sey, Julie Parker Benello & Don Bernier
A Netflix Original Documentary in association with Impact Partners, Artemis Rising Foundation, Meadow Fund, Dobkin Family Foundation, Chicago Media Project, Grant Me the Wisdom Productions & An Actual Films Production – Netflix
Finding Jack Charlton
Gabriel Clarke & Pete Thomas
Noah Media Group in association with BBC & Virgin Media Television – BBC Two
Gods of Snooker – Episode 1
Production team
Mindhouse — BBC Two
Channel 5 Best History Documentary
Damilola: The Boy Next Door
Yinka Bokinni, Nelson Adeosun, Evie Buckley, Jonathan Smith, Jaimie D’Cruz & Ashley Francis-Roy
Acme Films – Channel 4
DeLorean: Back from the Future
Jon-Barrie Waddell, Jonathan Smith, Mike Connolly, Sian McIlwaine & Jake Martin
A Fired Up Films Production for the BBC in association with Netflix, Pennebaker Hegedus Films, Northern Ireland Screen & eOne – BBC Two
Once Upon a Time in Iraq – Episode 2
James Bluemel, Jo Abel, Miriam Walsh, Simon Sykes, Will Anderson & Andrew Palmer
KEO Films – BBC Two
Silenced: The Hidden Story of Disabled Britain
Kate Scholefield, Caroline Sciama, Diane Bernhardt, Alistair Pegg, Cerrie Burnell & Regie Gardener
Blast! Films – BBC Two
The Open University Best Science Documentary
The Last Artifact
Ed Watkins, Jaime Jacobsen, Stefanie Watkins, Ben King, Rick Smith & Aaron Pruitt
Montana PBS & Montana State University – PBS International
Locked In: Breaking the Silence
Xavier Alford, Colette Hodges, Sacha Mirzoeff, Poppy Goodheart, Iris Maor & Jane Zurakowski
Marble Films – BBC Four
Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer
Samantha Richards, Stuart Prebble, Danielle Graham, Aodh Breathnach, James Gold & Lindsay Konieczny
Storyvault Films – BBC One
The Surgeon’s Cut – Episode 1
Production team
BBC Studios — Netflix
Discovery Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary
Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline – Episode 1
Olly Bootle, Mike Radford, Chris Brainwood, Rowan Ings, Seamas McCracken & Phil Kingwell
BBC TV Current Affairs – BBC Two
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Jonnie Hughes, Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey & Colin Butfield
Silverback Films & WWF Production — Netflix
Extinction: The Facts
Serena Davies, Helen Thomas, Stephen Moore, Charlotte Lathane & Sir David Attenborough
BBC Studios, The Science Unit – BBC One
My Octopus Teacher
Pippa Ehrlich, Ellen Windemuth, Swati Thiyagarajan, Craig Foster, James Reed & Sam Barton-Humphries
A Netflix Original Documentary in association with Off the Fence & The Sea Change Project – Netflix
YouTube Originals Best Entertaining Documentary
Bank Job
Daniel Edelstyn, Hilary Powell, Christopher Hird, Alice Powell & Lisa Marie Russo
Optimistic & Dartmouth Films – Theatrical release
DRYCH: Chwaer Fach Chwaer Fawr
Nia Dryhurst, Gethin Scourfield, Stephen Kingston, Emyr Llewelyn Jones & Lindsay Walker
DOGMA – S4C
The Mole: Infiltrating North Korea
Mads Brügger, Bjarte Mørner Tveit & Peter Engel
Piraya Film I AS – BBC Four
Undercover OAP: The Mole Agent
Maite Alberdi, Marcela Santibañez, Julie Goldman, Chris Clements, Carolina Siraqyan & Pablo Valdés
Micromundo Producciones, Motto Pictures, Sutor Kolonko, Volya Films & Malvalanda – BBC Four
Netflix Best Documentary Series
Allen v. Farrow
Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick, Amy Herdy, Jamie Rogers, Dan Cogan & Tara Lynda Guber
HBO Documentary Films presents in association with Impact Partners and Chicago Media Project, A Jane Doe Films Production – Sky Documentaries
Baby Surgeons: Delivering Miracles
Katharine Patrick, Samantha Anstiss, Joy Ash, Adam Robinson & Simon Mason
Wonderhood — Channel 4
Immigration Nation
Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz, Álvaro Guzmán Bastida, Jay Arthur Sterrenberg & Andrey Alistratov
Reel Peak Films – Netflix
Once Upon a Time in Iraq
James Bluemel, Jo Abel, Miriam Walsh, Simon Sykes, Will Anderson & Andrew Palmer
KEO Films — BBC Two
Channel 4 Best Constructed Documentary Series
The Choir: Singing for Britain
Production team
Twenty Twenty Productions — BBC Two
The Dog House
Anna Llewellyn, Nick Mirsky, Victoria Bell, Claire Parry, Catherine Miller & Tom Parr
Five Mile Films – Channel 4
Grayson’s Art Club
Production team
Swan Films — Channel 4
The School That Tried to End Racism
Production team
Proper Content — Channel 4
The Rumi Foundation Best Documentary Short
Disciples
Jess Kohl, Bec Evans, Sherlene Ding, Adric Watson, Andrew Cross & Hadi Azmir
Dazed Digital
A Love Song for Latasha
Sophia Nahli Allison, Fam Udeorji & Janice Duncan
A Netflix Original Documentary – Netflix
Mother
Kate Stonehill, Jas Pitt, Sorcha Bacon & Lua Guerreiro
Try Hard Films – London Film Festival
Take Your Knee Off My Neck: My First Time
Liana Stewart, Lucy Pilkington, Shianne Brown & Dan Jarman
Milk and Honey Productions – Channel 4
All3Media Best Student Documentary
The Scarecrows
Dan Hodgson, Julia Alcamo, Hiromi Tanoue, Mariana Torii, Chiara Armentano & Rebeca Alvaro
Arts University Bournemouth
Tease
Jessica Brady, Danielle Goff, Lesley Posso, Henry Sims, Alastair Mcnamara & Fabiana Tesauro
National Film and Television School
Tough Love
Billy Morley, Deen Hussein, Sorin Baluta, Linus Sandelands, Felicia Stalhammar & Filip Arnqvist Eiritz
University of Westminster
You Girls Need to Grow Up
Sohee Kim
University College London
Best Documentary presenter
Alison Hammond for Alison Hammond: Back to School
ITV Studios, Daytime – ITV
DR CHRIS AND DR XAND VAN TULLEKEN for Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me
Little Gem — BBC One
ROMAN KEMP for Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency
Twofour — BBC Three
YINKA BOKINNI for Damilola: The Boy Next Door
Acme Films — Channel 4
Jon Creamer
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