The Critics Choice Documentary Awards came of age last night. It was the best presentation in the event’s 7 years, held at the Edison Ballroom in New York.
Oscar winner Barbara Kopple received the lifetime Pennebaker Award from Chris Hegedus. Filmmaker Dawn Porter was honored as well.
Big winners included the Beatles’ “Get Back” documentary and “Good Night Oppy,” now a front runner for the Oscars. The latter is the true story of Mars landers that sent back signals after being though to be moribund. It’s like a real life “Wall E.”
The Beatles nominations were taken pretty seriously by the group. Jeff Jones and Jonathan Clyde, who run the Beatles operations, and rarely come to anything, were on hand and accepted their statues. Congrats!
Among the many star studded presenters were Paul Shaffer, Richard Kind, Tamara Tunie, Rob McElhenney, Idina Menzel, Jeremy Sisto, Paul Shaffer, Kathy Ireland, Reginald Hudlin, Reginald Hudlin, Soledad O’Brien, Tonya Lewis Lee, Erich Bergen, Andrew Jarecki, Shoshana Bean and Willie Colón.
Joey Berlin’s awards group has been very busy this week, with awards ceremonies also in Los Angeles for Latin Films and Black films — all top notch events. The big Critics Choice Awards air live on January 15th from Los Angeles on the CW network with all the main awards in movies and TV. Chelsea Handler is the host.
The Critics Choice Documentary Awards 2022 Winners List
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Gold: Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
Silver: Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Bronze: Navalny (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
BEST DIRECTOR
Ryan White – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
David Siev – Bad Axe (IFC Films)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Cinematography Team – Our Great National Parks (Netflix)
BEST EDITING
Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (Neon/HBO Documentary Films)
BEST SCORE
Blake Neely – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
BEST NARRATION
Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
Written by Helen Kearns, Ryan White
Performed by Angela Bassett
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
Descendant (Netflix)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Sidney (Apple TV+)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
Navalny (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros. Pictures)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY (TIE)
Citizen Ashe (HBO Max/CNN Films)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker Studios)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN)