This is a list of films by year that have received an Oscar

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 together with the other nominations for best documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 short subject. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year.

1940s

• 1941 - Churchill's Island
  Churchill's Island
  Churchill's Island is a 1941 propaganda film chronicling the defence of Great Britain during World War II...
  
   - National Film Board of Canada
  National Film Board of Canada
  The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
  
  
  • Adventure in the Bronx
    Adventure in the Bronx
    Adventure in the Bronx is a 1941 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Bomber
    Bomber (1941 film)
    Bomber is a 1941 American short documentary film written by Carl Sandburg. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Christmas Under Fire
    Christmas Under Fire
    Christmas Under Fire is a 1941 short documentary film directed by Harry Watt. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The film, narrated by Quentin Reynolds, tells of how the British people celebrated Christmas in hiding during the German attack on Britain in 1940, in the...
    
    
  • A Letter from Home
    A Letter from Home (film)
    A Letter from Home is a 1941 short documentary film directed by Carol Reed. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-Cast:* Joyce Grenfell - American Mother* Kathleen Harrison - The Maid* Celia Johnson - English Mother...
    
    
  • Life of a Thoroughbred
    Life of a Thoroughbred
    Life of a Thoroughbred is a 1941 short documentary film directed by Tom Cummiskey. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Norway in Revolt
    Norway in Revolt
    Norway in Revolt is a 1941 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Soldiers of the Sky
    Soldiers of the Sky
    Soldiers of the Sky is a 1941 short documentary film directed by Earl Allvine. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Warclouds in the Pacific
• 1942 - At the 15th Academy Awards
  15th Academy Awards
  The 15th Academy Awards was held in the Cocoanut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Best Picture honors went to the film Mrs. Miniver. The ceremony is most famous for the speech by the film’s Oscar-winning actress Greer Garson...
  
  , 25 films were nominated and four special awards presented in the Documentary category, in recognition of the Allied war in effort in World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  :
• The Battle of Midway
  The Battle of Midway
  The Battle of Midway is a 1942 American documentary film short directed by John Ford. It is a montage of color footage of the Battle of Midway with voice overs of various narrators, including Donald Crisp, Henry Fonda, and Jane Darwell...
  
  -- United States Navy
  United States Navy
  The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
  
  
  • • "A special award to Battle of Midway for the historical value of its achievement in offering a camera record of one of the decisive battles of the world - a record unique both for the courage of those who made it under fire, and for its magnificent portrayal of the gallantry of our armed forces in battle."
• Kokoda Front Line! -- Australian News & Information Bureau
  • • "A special award to Kokoda Front Line! for its effectiveness in portraying, simply yet forcefully, the scene of war in New Guinea and for its moving presentation of the bravery and fortitude of our Australian comrades in arms."
• Moscow Strikes Back
  Moscow Strikes Back
  Moscow Strikes Back is a Soviet war documentary about Battle of Moscow made in October 1941 – January 1942 directed by Leonid Varlamov and Ilya Kopalin.In USSR film was awarded the Stalin Prize....
  
  -- Artkino
  • • "A special award to Moscow Strikes Back for its vivid presentation of the heroism of the Russian Army and of the Russian people in the defense of Moscow, and for its achievement in so doing under conditions of extreme difficulty and danger."
• Prelude to War
  Prelude to War
  Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra’s Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Office of War Information and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II...
  
   -- United States Army Special Services
  • • "A special award to Prelude to War for its trenchant conception and authentic and stirring dramatization of the events which forced our nation into the war and of the ideals for which we fight."
  • Africa, Prelude to Victory -- The March of Time
    The March of Time
    The March of Time is a radio series, and companion newsreel series, that was broadcast on CBS from 1931 to 1945 and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was created by Time, Inc. executive Roy Edward Larsen, and was produced and written by Louis de Rochemont and his brother Richard de...
    
    
  • Combat Report -- United States Army Signal Corps
    United States Army Signal Corps
    The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
    
    
  • Conquer by the Clock -- Frederic Ullman, Jr., Producer
  • The Grain That Built a Hemisphere -- Walt Disney
    Walt Disney
    Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
    
    , Producer -- Walt Disney Productions
  • Henry Browne, Farmer
    Henry Browne, Farmer
    Henry Browne, Farmer was a short propaganda film produced in 1942 about African-American contributions to the American home front. It is narrated by Canada Lee....
    
    -- United States Department of Agriculture
    United States Department of Agriculture
    The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
    
    
  • High over the Borders -- National Film Board of Canada
    National Film Board of Canada
    The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
    
    
  • High Stakes in the East -- The Netherlands Information Bureau
  • Inside Fighting China
    Inside Fighting China
    Inside Fighting China is a 1941 Canadian short documentary film directed by Stuart Legg, and narrated by Lorne Greene. The film documents China's resistance to Japan's invasion during World War II...
    
    -- National Film Board of Canada
    National Film Board of Canada
    The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
    
    
  • It's Everybody's War
    It's Everybody's War
    It's Everybody's War was a short dramatic propaganda film produced by 20th Century Fox and distributed by the Office of War Information in 1942....
    
    -- United States Office of War Information
    United States Office of War Information
    The United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
    
    
  • Listen to Britain -- British Ministry of Information
  • Little Belgium -- Belgian Ministry of Information
  • Little Isles of Freedom -- Victor Stoloff and Edgar Loew, Producers
  • Mr. Blabbermouth! -- United States Office of War Information
  • Mr. Gardenia Jones -- United States Office of War Information
  • The New Spirit
    The New Spirit
    The New Spirit is a 1942 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and released by the War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry. The cartoon which stars Donald Duck was the first film created as part of Walt Disney's...
    
    -- Walt Disney
    Walt Disney
    Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
    
    , Producer -- Walt Disney Productions
  • The Price of Victory -- William H. Pine, Producer
  • A Ship Is Born -- United States Merchant Marine
    United States Merchant Marine
    The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
    
    
  • Twenty-One Miles -- British Ministry of Information
  • We Refuse to Die -- William C. Thomas, Producer
  • White Eagle
    White Eagle
    White Eagle may refer to:A coat of arms:*White Eagle of the Serbian royal houses Nemanjić, Mrnjavčević, Lazarević, Crnojević, Obrenović and Karađorđević used on the Coat of arms of Serbia and the Flag of Serbia ....
    
    -- Concanen Films
  • Winning Your Wings
    Winning Your Wings
    Winning Your Wings is a 1942 Allied propaganda film of World War II produced by the US Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit, starring Jimmy Stewart. It was aimed at young men who were thinking about joining the Air Force....
    
    -- United States Army Air Force
• 1943 - December 7th
  December 7th (film)
  December 7th is a propaganda film produced by the US Navy and directed by John Ford, about the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the event which sparked the Pacific War and American involvement in World War II.-Production background:...
  
   - United States Navy
  United States Navy
  The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
  
  
  • Children of Mars
    Children of Mars
    Children of Mars is a 1943 short documentary film directed by Frank Donovan. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Plan for Destruction
    Plan for Destruction
    Plan for Destruction is a 1943 short documentary film directed by Edward Cahn. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Swedes in America
    Swedes in America
    Swedes in America is a 1943 short documentary film directed by Irving Lerner. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • To the People of the United States
    To the People of the United States
    To the People of the United States is a short propaganda film produced by the US Public Health Service in 1943 to warn the American GIs against syphilis. It was directed by Arthur Lubin....
    
    
  • Tomorrow We Fly
    Tomorrow We Fly
    Tomorrow We Fly is a 1943 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Youth in Crisis
    Youth in Crisis
    Youth in Crisis is a 1943 short documentary film produced by Louis De Rochemont. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1944 - With the Marines at Tarawa
  With the Marines at Tarawa
  With the Marines at Tarawa is a 1944 short propaganda documentary film directed by Louis Hayward. It used authentic footage taken at the Battle of Tarawa to tell the story of the American servicemen from the time they get the news that they are to participate in the invasion to the final taking of...
  
  - United States Marine Corps
  United States Marine Corps
  The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
  
  
  • Hymn of the Nations
    Hymn of the Nations
    Hymn of the Nations, originally titled Arturo Toscanini: Hymn of the Nations , is a film directed by Alexander Hammid, which features a patriotic work for tenor soloist, chorus, and orchestra, composed by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi in the early-1860s...
    
    
  • New Americans
    New Americans (film)
    New Americans is a 1944 short documentary film directed by Slavko Vorkapić. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1945 - Hitler Lives
  Hitler Lives
  Hitler Lives is a 1945 short documentary film directed by Don Siegel. It won an Academy Award in 1946 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Gordon Hollingshead
  Gordon Hollingshead
  Gordon Hollingshead was an American movie producer, associate producer and assistant director....
  
  , Producer
  • Library of Congress
    Library of Congress (film)
    Library of Congress is a 1945 short documentary film directed by Alexander Hammid. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • To the Shores of Iwo Jima
    To the Shores of Iwo Jima
    To the Shores of Iwo Jima is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the footage of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima.-Overview:The...
    
    
• 1946 - Seeds of Destiny
  Seeds of Destiny
  Seeds of Destiny is a 1946 short propaganda film about the despairing situation faced by millions of children in the wake of the Holocaust who were homeless, parentless, orphaned, and in poor health. The film was produced by the Defense Department of The U.S...
  
  - United States Department of War
  United States Department of War
  The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
  
  
  • Atomic Power
    Atomic Power (film)
    Atomic Power is a 1946 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Life at the Zoo
    Life at the Zoo
    Life at the Zoo is a 1946 Soviet short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Paramount News Issue#37
  • Traffic with the Devil
    Traffic with the Devil
    Traffic with the Devil is a 1946 short documentary film about traffic problems in Los Angeles, directed by Gunther von Fritsch. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1947 - First Steps
  First Steps (1947 film)
  First Steps is a 1947 short documentary film about the treatment of children with disabilities in India. Produced by the United Nations and directed by Hans Burger, it won an Academy Award in 1948 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:*...
  
  - United Nations Division of Films and Visual Information
  • Passport to Nowhere
    Passport to Nowhere
    Passport to Nowhere is a 1947 short documentary film produced by Frederic Ullman Jr.. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • School in the Mailbox
    School in the Mailbox
    School in the Mailbox is a 1947 Australian short documentary film directed by Stanley Hawes. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1948 - Toward Independence
  Toward Independence
  Toward Independence is a 1948 short documentary film. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - United States Army
  United States Army
  The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
  
  
  • Heart to Heart
    Heart to Heart (film)
    Heart to Heart is a 1949 short documentary film about heart disease directed by Gunther von Fritsch. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Operation Vittles
    Operation Vittles (film)
    Operation Vittles is a 1948 short documentary film about the Berlin Airlift. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1949 - (tie):
  • A Chance To Live
    A Chance to Live
    A Chance to Live is a 1949 American short documentary film directed by James L. Shute, produced by Richard de Rochemont for Time Inc. and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox....
    
    - Richard de Rochemont
    Richard de Rochemont
    Richard de Rochemont was an American documentary film-maker in the late 1940s, who also worked on the March of Time newsreel series....
    
    , Producer
  • So Much for So Little
    So Much for So Little
    So Much for So Little is a 1949 short documentary film directed by Chuck Jones. It won an Academy Award in 1950 for Documentary Short Subject, tying with A Chance to Live. As a work of the United States Government, the film is in the public domain.-Plot:...
    
    - Edward Selzer, Producer
  • 1848
    1848 (film)
    1848 is a 1949 French short documentary film directed by Marguerite de la Mure and Victoria Mercanton. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Rising Tide
    The Rising Tide (film)
    The Rising Tide is a 1949 Canadian short documentary film directed by Jean Palardy. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

1950s

• 1950 - Why Korea?
  Why Korea?
  Why Korea? is a 1950 short documentary film produced by Edmund Reek. It won an Academy Award in 1951 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Edmund Reek, Producer
  • The Fight: Science Against Cancer
    The Fight: Science Against Cancer
    The Fight: Science Against Cancer is a 1950 Canadian short documentary film directed by Morten Parker. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Stairs
    The Stairs (film)
    The Stairs is a 1950 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1951 - Benjy
  Benjy
  Benjy is a 1951 short documentary film directed by Fred Zinnemann. It won an Academy Award in 1952 for Documentary Short Subject.-Production:Henry Fonda narrates this short film about a boy who was handicapped from birth...
  
  - Made by Fred Zinnemann
  Fred Zinnemann
  Fred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American film director. He won four Academy Awards and directed films like High Noon, From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons.-Life and career:...
  
   with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures
  Paramount Pictures
  Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
  
   Corporation for the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital
  • One Who Came Back
    One Who Came Back
    One Who Came Back is a 1951 short documentary film produced by Owen Crump. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Seeing Eye
    The Seeing Eye (film)
    The Seeing Eye is a 1951 short documentary film produced by Gordon Hollingshead. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1952 - Neighbours
  Neighbours (film)
  Neighbours is a 1952 anti-war film by Scottish-Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren. Produced at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, the film uses the technique known as pixilation, an animation technique using live actors as stop-motion objects...
  
  - Norman McLaren
  Norman McLaren
  Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...
  
  , Producer - National Film Board of Canada
  National Film Board of Canada
  The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
  
  
  • Devil Take Us
    Devil Take Us
    Devil Take Us is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Herbert Morgan. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Two-Reel Short....
    
    
  • Epeira Diadema
    The Garden Spider
    The Garden Spider is a 1952 Italian short documentary film directed by Alberto Ancilotto. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Man Alive!
    Man Alive! (film)
    Man Alive! is a 1952 American short documentary film directed by William T. Hurtz. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1953 - The Alaskan Eskimo
  The Alaskan Eskimo
  The Alaskan Eskimo is a 1953 short documentary film produced by Walt Disney. It won an Academy Award at the 26th Academy Awards in 1954 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:...
  
  - Walt Disney
  Walt Disney
  Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
  
  , Producer - Walt Disney Productions
  • The Living City
    The Living City
    The Living City is a 1953 American short documentary film produced by John Barnes. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Operation Blue Jay
    Operation Blue Jay
    Operation Blue Jay is a 1953 short documentary film about the building of Thule Air Base in Greenland. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-External links:*...
    
    
  • They Planted a Stone
    They Planted a Stone
    They Planted a Stone is a 1953 British short documentary film produced by James Carr. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Word
    The Word (1953 film)
    The Word is a 1953 short documentary film produced by John Adams. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1954 - Thursday's Children
  Thursday's Children
  Thursday's Children is a 1954 short documentary film directed by Lindsay Anderson about The Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent, UK. It won an Academy Award in 1955 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - World Wide Pictures and Morse Films
  • Jet Carrier
    Jet Carrier
    Jet Carrier is a 1954 short documentary film produced by Otto Lang. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Two-Reel Short.It was filmed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown....
    
    
  • Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait
    Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait
    Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait is a 1954 short documentary film produced by Morrie Roizman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1955 - Men against the Arctic
  Men Against the Arctic
  Men Against the Arctic is a 1955 short documentary film directed by Winston Hibler. It won an Academy Award in 1956 for Documentary Short Subject. It was also entered into the 6th Berlin International Film Festival.-External links:*...
  
  - Walt Disney
  Walt Disney
  Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
  
  , Producer - Walt Disney Productions
  • The Battle of Gettysburg
    The Battle of Gettysburg (1955 film)
    The Battle of Gettysburg is a 1955 American documentary film about the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards....
    
    
  • The Face of Lincoln
    The Face of Lincoln
    The Face of Lincoln is a 1955 short documentary film in which sculptor Robert Merrell Gage models the features of Abraham Lincoln while narrating the story of Lincoln's life. It won an Academy Award in 1956 for Best Short Subject and was also nominated for Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject...
    
    
• 1956 - The True Story of the Civil War
  The True Story of the Civil War
  The True Story of the Civil War is a 1956 short documentary film directed by Louis Clyde Stoumen. It won an Academy Award in 1957 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:...
  
  - Louis Clyde Stoumen
  Louis Clyde Stoumen
  Louis Clyde Stoumen was an American film director and producer. He won two Academy Awards; the first in 1957 for Best Documentary Short Subject , and the second in 1963 for Best Documentary Feature .He was born in Springtown, Pennsylvania and died in Sonoma...
  
  , Producer
  • Man in Space
    Man in Space
    Man in Space is an episode of Disneyland which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. Later, it was edited into a featurette to play in theaters, accompanying Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. This Disneyland episode , was narrated partly by Kimball...
    
    
  • A City Decides
    A City Decides
    A City Decides is a 1956 American short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Dark Wave
    The Dark Wave
    The Dark Wave is a 1956 short documentary film directed by Jean Negulesco. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Two-Reel Short....
    
    
  • The House Without a Name
    The House Without a Name
    The House Without a Name is a 1956 short documentary film written and produced by Valentine Davies. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1957 - none given
• 1958 - Ama Girls
  Ama Girls
  Ama Girls is a 1958 American short documentary film produced by Ben Sharpsteen. It won an Academy Award at the 31st Academy Awards in 1959 for Documentary Short Subject. It is also known as Japan Harvests the Sea....
  
  - Ben Sharpsteen
  Ben Sharpsteen
  Ben Sharpsteen was an American film director and producer for Disney. He directed 31 films between 1920 and 1980....
  
  , Producer
  • Employees Only
    Employees Only
    Employees Only is a 1958 short documentary film produced by Kenneth G. Brown. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Journey Into Spring
    Journey Into Spring
    Journey Into Spring is a 1958 short documentary film directed by Ralph Keene and made by British Transport Films. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Live Action Short....
    
    
  • The Living Stone
    The Living Stone
    The Living Stone is a 1958 Canadian short documentary film directed by John Feeney about Inuit art. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-External links:*...
    
    
  • Oeuverture
    Overture (1958 film)
    Overture is a 1958 Canadian short documentary film directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1959 - Glass
  Glass (film)
  Glass is a 1958 Dutch short documentary film by director and producer Bert Haanstra. The film won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. The entire film is about the glass bottle industry.-External links:*...
  
  - Bert Haanstra
  Bert Haanstra
  Bert Haanstra was a Dutch film and documentary director.Haanstra was born in the town of Holten and became a professional filmmaker in 1947. He won international acclaim with his short documentary Spiegel van Holland / Mirror of Holland, for which he received the Grand Prix du court métrage at the...
  
  , Producer
  • Donald in Mathmagic Land
    Donald in Mathmagic Land
    Donald in Mathmagic Land is a 27-minute Donald Duck featurette released on June 26, 1959. It was directed by Hamilton Luske. Contributors included Disney artists John Hench and Art Riley, voice talent Paul Frees, and scientific expert Heinz Haber, who had worked on the Disney space shows. It was...
    
    
  • From Generation to Generation
    From Generation to Generation
    From Generation to Generation is a 1959 short documentary film produced by Edward F. Cullen. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

Note: A press release issued by AMPAS in 2005 states that "Documentary Short Subject winners Benjy (1951) and Neighbours (1952) are among a group of films that not only competed, but won Academy Awards in what were clearly inappropriate categories. Benjy, directed by Fred Zinnemann and narrated by Henry Fonda, is the fictional tale of a crippled boy. The film was used as a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital. ... Norman McLaren's Neighbours, which today would compete in the Animated Short category, used "pixilation" – animation using living people - to create an allegory of war."

1960s

• 1960 - Giuseppina
  Giuseppina
  Giuseppina is a 1960 short documentary film produced by James Hill. It won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. Production of the film was sponsored by the British Petroleum company , which also distributes the film...
  
  - James Hill
  James Hill
  James Hill may refer to:*James Hill , former professional American football tight end*James Hill , British film and television director...
  
  , Producer
  • Beyond Silence
    Beyond Silence (1960 film)
    Beyond Silence is a 1960 short documentary film directed by Edmond Levy. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • En by ved navn København
    A City Called Copenhagen
    A City Called Copenhagen is a 1960 Danish short documentary film directed by Jørgen Roos. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • George Grosz' Interregnum
    George Grosz' Interregnum
    George Grosz' Interregnum is a 29-minute long documentary film about the artist George Grosz produced by Altina Carey and Charles Carey, and narrated by Lotte Lenya. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The original music was by Paul Glass, and the cinematography by...
    
    
  • Universe
• 1961 - Project Hope
  Project Hope (film)
  Project Hope is a 1961 short documentary film produced by Frank P. Bibas. It won an Academy Award in 1962 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Frank P. Bibas, Producer
  • Breaking the Language Barrier
    Breaking the Language Barrier
    Breaking the Language Barrier is a 1961 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Cradle of Genius
    Cradle of Genius
    Cradle of Genius is a 1961 Irish short documentary film directed by Paul Rotha. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Kahl
    Kahl (film)
    Kahl is a 1961 West German short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • L'uomo in grigio
    The Man in Gray
    The Man in Gray is a 1961 Italian short documentary film produced by Benedetto Benedetti. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1962 - Dylan Thomas
  Dylan Thomas (film)
  Dylan Thomas is a 1962 short documentary film directed by Jack Howells. It won an Academy Award at the 35th Academy Awards in 1963 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Jack Howells
  Jack Howells
  Thomas John "Jack" Howells was a Welsh film-maker, who is best remembered for his documentary Dylan Thomas, the only Welsh film to have won an Academy Award, for Documentary Short Subject in 1963.-Career:...
  
  , Producer
  • The John Glenn Story
    The John Glenn Story
    The John Glenn Story is a 1962 short documentary film directed by Michael R. Lawrence about the astronaut John Glenn. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Road to the Wall
    The Road to the Wall
    The Road to the Wall is a 1962 short documentary film produced by Robert Saudek. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-External links:* on YouTube...
    
    
• 1963 - Chagall
  Chagall (film)
  Chagall is a 1963 short documentary film directed by Lauro Venturi. It won an Academy Award at the 36th Academy Awards in 1964 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Simon Schiffrin, Producer
  • The Five Cities of June
    The Five Cities of June
    The Five Cities of June is a 1963 short documentary film directed by Bruce Herschensohn. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.The government-sponsored film details the events of June 1963 in five different cities...
    
    
  • The Spirit of America
    The Spirit of America
    The Spirit of America is a 1963 short documentary film produced by Algernon G. Wlaker. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Thirty Million Letters
    Thirty Million Letters
    Thirty Million Letters is a 1963 short documentary film directed by James Ritchie and made by British Transport Films. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • To Live Again
    To Live Again (film)
    To Live Again is a 1963 short documentary film produced by Mel London. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1964 - Nine from Little Rock
  Nine from Little Rock
  Nine from Little Rock is a 1964 short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim. It won an Academy Award in 1965 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:* Jefferson Thomas - Himself - Narrator...
  
  - Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
  
  , Producer
  • 140 Days Under the World
    140 Days Under the World
    140 Days Under the World is a 1964 New Zealand short documentary film about Antarctica. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Breaking the Habit
    Breaking the Habit (film)
    Breaking the Habit is a 1964 American short documentary film directed by John Korty about cigarette smoking and lung cancer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Children Without
    Children Without
    Children Without is a 1964 short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
    Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
    Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak is a 1964 Canadian short documentary film about Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, directed by John Feeney. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1965 - To Be Alive!
  To Be Alive!
  To Be Alive! is a 1964 short documentary film co-directed by Francis Thompson and Alexander Hammid. The film is notable for its use of a multi-screen format and for winning the Academy Award in 1966 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Francis Thompson
  Francis Thompson
  Francis Thompson was an English poet and ascetic. After attending college, he moved to London to become a writer, but in menial work, became addicted to opium, and was a street vagrant for years. A married couple read his poetry and rescued him, publishing his first book, Poems in 1893...
  
  , Producer
  • Mural on Our Street
    Mural on Our Street
    Mural on Our Street is a 1965 short documentary film directed by Dee Dee Halleck. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Nyitany
    Overture (1965 film)
    Overture is a 1965 Hungarian short documentary film written by János Vadász. It won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Point of View
    Point of View (film)
    Point of View is a 1965 short documentary film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Yeats Country
    Yeats Country
    Yeats Country is a 1965 Irish short documentary film directed by Patrick Carey. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1966 - A Year Toward Tomorrow
  A Year Toward Tomorrow
  A Year Toward Tomorrow is a 1966 short documentary film about the Volunteers in Service to America, directed by Edmond Levy. It won an Academy Award in 1967 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:...
  
  - Edmond A. Levy, Producer
  • Adolescence
    Adolescence (film)
    Adolescence is a 1966 French short documentary film directed by Marin Karmitz. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Cowboy
    Cowboy (1966 film)
    Cowboy is a 1966 short documentary film directed by Michael Ahnemann and produced by Ahnemann and Gary Schlosser. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Odds Against
    The Odds Against
    The Odds Against is a 1966 American short documentary film directed by Lee R. Bobker. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Részletek J.S. Bach Máté passiójából
    Saint Matthew Passion (film)
    Saint Matthew Passion is a 1966 Hungarian short documentary film directed by Tamás Czigány. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1967 - The Redwoods
  The Redwoods
  The Redwoods is a 1967 short documentary film produced by Trevor Greenwood and Mark Jonathan Harris. It was produced for the Sierra Club as part of their campaign for a national park to protect the redwood forest. It won an Academy Award in 1968 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Mark Harris
  Mark Jonathan Harris
  Mark Jonathan Harris is an American documentary filmmaker probably best known for his films Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport and The Long Way Home...
  
   and Trevor Greenwood, Producers
  • Monument to the Dream
    Monument to the Dream
    Monument to the Dream is a 1967 short documentary film about the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial directed by Charles Guggenheim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • A Place to Stand
  • See You at the Pillar
    See You at the Pillar
    See You at the Pillar is a 1967 short documentary film about Dublin combining contemporary footage, folk music and quotations from past residents such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan. The film is narrated via a "conversation" between Anthony Quayle and Norman Rodway. Produced...
    
    
  • While I Run This Race
    While I Run This Race
    While I Run This Race is a 1967 short documentary film directed by Edmond Levy about poverty in the United States. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1968 - Why Man Creates
  Why Man Creates
  Why Man Creates is a 1968 animated short documentary film which discusses the nature of creativity. It was written by Saul Bass and Mayo Simon, and directed by Saul and Elaine Bass.The movie won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject...
  
  - Saul Bass
  Saul Bass
  Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
  
  , Producer
  • The House That Ananda Built
    The House That Ananda Built
    The House That Ananda Built is a 1968 Indian short documentary film directed by Fali Bilimoria. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Revolving Door
    The Revolving Door
    The Revolving Door is a 1968 short documentary film directed by Lee R. Bobker and produced by Vision Associates. The 28.5 minute film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • A Space to Grow
    A Space to Grow
    A Space to Grow is a 1968 short documentary film produced by Thomas P. Kelly Jr.. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • A Way Out of the Wilderness
    A Way Out of the Wilderness
    A Way Out of the Wilderness is a 1968 short documentary film produced by Dan E. Weisburd. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1969 - Czechoslovakia 1968
  Czechoslovakia 1968
  Czechoslovakia 1968 is a 1969 short documentary film about the "Prague Spring", the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. The film was produced by the United States Information Agency under the direction of Robert M...
  
  - Denis Sanders
  Denis Sanders
  Denis Sanders was an American film director, screenwriter and producer who directed the debut performances of Robert Redford, George Hamilton, Sydney Pollack and Tom Skerritt in the critically acclaimed 1962 film War Hunt...
  
   and Robert M. Fresco, Producers
  • An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer
    An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer
    An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer is a 1969 short documentary film directed by Donald Wrye. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Jenny Is a Good Thing
    Jenny Is a Good Thing
    Jenny Is a Good Thing is a 1969 short documentary film directed by Joan Horvath. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Leo Beuerman
    Leo Beuerman
    Leo Beuerman is a 1969 short documentary film directed by Gene Boomer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Magic Machines
    The Magic Machines
    The Magic Machines is a 1969 short documentary film directed by Bob Curtis. It won an Academy Award in 1970 for Best Short Subject and was nominated for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

1970s

• 1970 - Interviews with My Lai Veterans
  Interviews with My Lai Veterans
  Interviews with My Lai Veterans is a 1970 short documentary film directed by Joseph Strick. It won an Academy Award in 1971 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Joseph Strick
  Joseph Strick
  Joseph Strick was an American director, producer and screenwriter.Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Strick briefly attended UCLA before enrolling in the Army during World War II. In the Army, he served as a cameraman in the Army Air Forces.In 1948, he and Irving Lerner produced Muscle Beach...
  
  , Producer
  • The Gifts
    The Gifts
    The Gifts is a 1970 short documentary film about water pollution in the United States, produced by Robert McBride for the Environmental Protection Administration. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • A Long Way from Nowhere
    A Long Way from Nowhere
    A Long Way from Nowhere is a 1970 short documentary film produced by Bob Aller. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Oisin
    Oisin (film)
    Oisin is a 1970 Irish short documentary film directed by Patrick Carey. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Time Is Running Out
    Time Is Running Out (film)
    Time Is Running Out is a 1970 West German short documentary film directed by Robert Ménégoz. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1971 - Sentinels of Silence
  Sentinels of Silence
  Sentinels of Silence is a 1971 short documentary film on ancient Mexican civilizations. The film was directed and written by Mexican filmmaker Robert Amram, and is notable for being the first and only short film to win two Academy Awards.-Plot:...
  
  - Manuel Arango and Robert Amram, Producers
  • Adventures in Perception
    Adventures in Perception
    Adventures in Perception is a 1971 Dutch short documentary film directed by Han Van Gelder. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short., and won the Best Short Film on Art at the 1971 Cork Film Festival. It is a study on the works of M. C. Escher...
    
    
  • Art Is...
    Art Is...
    Art Is... is a 1971 short documentary film directed by Julian Krainin. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Numbers Start with the River
    The Numbers Start with the River
    The Numbers Start with the River is a 1971 short documentary film produced by Donald Wrye. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Somebody Waiting
    Somebody Waiting
    Somebody Waiting is a 1971 short documentary film produced by Woody Omens. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1972 - This Tiny World
  This Tiny World
  This Tiny World is a 1972 short documentary film produced by Charles Huguenot van der Linden. It won an Academy Award in 1973 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Charles Huguenot van der Linden and Martina Huguenot van der Linden, Producers
  • Hundertwassers Regentag
    Hundertwasser's Rainy Day
    Hundertwasser's Rainy Day is a 1972 German short documentary film directed by Peter Schamoni. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • K-Z
    K-Z
    K-Z is a 1972 Italian short documentary film directed by Giorgio Treves. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Selling Out
    Selling Out (film)
    Selling Out is a 1972 short film for cinema and TV directed by Tadeusz Jaworski, written and produced by Jack Winter, distributed by Unit Productions and Encyclopædia Britannica.-Awards and nominations:...
    
    
  • The Tide of Traffic
    The Tide of Traffic
    The Tide of Traffic is a 1972 short documentary film directed by Derek Williams. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1973 - Princeton: A Search for Answers
  Princeton: A Search for Answers
  Princeton: A Search for Answers is a 1973 short documentary film directed by Julian Krainin and DeWitt Sage. It won an Academy Award in 1974 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Julian Krainin and DeWitt L. Sage, Jr., Producers
  • Background
  • Christo's Valley Curtain
    Christo's Valley Curtain
    Christo's Valley Curtain is a 1974 short documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles, about Christo and Jeanne-Claudes Valley Curtain project. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Four Stones for Kanemitsu
    Four Stones for Kanemitsu
    Four Stones for Kanemitsu is a 1973 short documentary film produced by June Wayne. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Paisti ag obair
    Children at Work
    Children at Work is a 1973 Irish short documentary film produced by Louis Marcus. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1974 - Don't
  Don't (film)
  Don't is a 1974 short American documentary film directed by Robin Lehman. It won an Academy Award at the 47th Academy Awards in 1975 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Robin Lehman, Producer
  • City Out of Wilderness
    City Out of Wilderness
    City Out of Wilderness is a 1974 short documentary film produced by Francis Thompson. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Exploratorium
    Exploratorium (film)
    Exploratorium is a 1974 short documentary film produced by Jon Boorstin. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • John Muir's High Sierra
    John Muir's High Sierra
    John Muir's High Sierra is a 1974 short documentary film directed by Dewitt Jones produced by Dewitt Jones and Lesley Foster. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Naked Yoga
    Naked Yoga (film)
    Naked Yoga is a short documentary released in 1974 and illustrates the practice of yoga in a natural setting and in the nude. The plot of this movie includes women practicing yoga in Cyprus and in a studio. These visuals are interspersed with images of Eastern art, processed for "psychedelic"...
    
    
• 1975 - The End of the Game
  The End of the Game (film)
  The End of the Game is a 1975 short documentary film directed by Robin Lehman. It won an Academy Award in 1976 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:...
  
  - Claire Wilbur
  Claire Wilbur
  Claire Wilbur, also known as Catt Wilbur was an American actress of stage and screen as well as an Academy Award-winning producer of short films...
  
   and Robin Lehman, Producers
  • Arthur and Lillie
    Arthur and Lillie
    Arthur and Lillie is a 1975 short documentary film directed by Jon Else. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.This is a biographical documentary about Arthur and Lillie Mayer - their own lives and their adventures in the formation of "Hollywood" from its earliest days....
    
    
  • Millions of Years Ahead of Man
    Millions of Years Ahead of Man
    Millions of Years Ahead of Man is a 1975 German short documentary film produced by Manfred Baier. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Probes in Space
    Probes in Space
    Probes in Space is a 1975 short documentary film produced by George Casey. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Whistling Smith
    Whistling Smith
    Whistling Smith is a 1975 Canadian short documentary film about Vancouver policeman Sergeant Bernie "Whistling" Smith, directed by Marrin Canell. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 48th Academy Awards....
    
    
• 1976 - Number Our Days
  Number Our Days
  Number Our Days is a 1976 short documentary film about a community of elderly Jews living in Venice, California. Directed by Lynne Littman, it won an Academy Award in 1977 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:* Harry Asimow - Himself...
  
  - Lynne Littman
  Lynne Littman
  Lynne Littman is an American director. She has frequently worked with anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff. She directed Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.-Awards:...
  
   and Barbara Myerhoff
  Barbara Myerhoff
  Barbara Myerhoff , anthropologist, filmmaker, and founder of the Center for Visual Anthropology at the University of Southern California....
  
  , Producers
  • American Shoeshine
    American Shoeshine
    American Shoeshine is a 1975 short documentary film directed by Sparky Greene. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Blackwood
    Blackwood (film)
    Blackwood is a 1976 Canadian short documentary film about Canadian artist David Blackwood, directed by Tony Ianzelo and Andy Thomson. Narration is provided by Gordon Pinsent. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The End of the Road
  • Universe
    Universe (1976 film)
    Universe is a 1976 short documentary film directed by Lester Novros. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1977 - Gravity Is My Enemy
  Gravity Is My Enemy
  Gravity Is My Enemy is a 1977 short documentary film about quadriplegic visual artist Mark Hicks, directed by John C. Joseph. It won an Academy Award in 1978 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - John C. Joseph and Jan Stussy, Producers
  • Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country
    Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country
    Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country is a 1977 short documentary film produced by Moctesuma Esparza. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • First Edition
    First Edition (film)
    First Edition is a 1977 short documentary film directed by Helen Whitney. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Of Time, Tombs and Treasures
    Of Time, Tombs and Treasures
    Of Time, Tombs and Treasures is a 1977 short documentary film about the discovery the Tomb of the Tutankamun. Produced by James R. Messenger, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Shetland Experience
    The Shetland Experience
    The Shetland Experience is a 1977 short documentary film directed by Derek Williams. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1978 - The Flight of the Gossamer Condor
  The Flight of the Gossamer Condor
  The Flight of the Gossamer Condor is a 1978 short documentary film directed by Ben Shedd, about the development of the Gossamer Condor, the first human-powered aircraft. It won an Academy Award in 1979 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:...
  
  - Jacqueline Phillips Shedd and Ben Shedd
  Ben Shedd
  Ben Shedd has been a professional film and video director, producer, and writer since 1970. He has won an Academy Award.He earned a degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1973....
  
  , Producers
  • The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey
    The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey
    The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey is a 1978 short documentary film directed by Jerry Aronson. It was nominated in 1978 for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. It lost to The Flight of the Gossamer Condor....
    
    
  • An Encounter with Faces
    An Encounter with Faces
    An Encounter with Faces is a 1978 short documentary film directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and produced by K.K. Kapil. It was nominated in 1979 for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.- Awards and nominations :...
    
    
  • Goodnight Miss Ann
    Goodnight Miss Ann
    Goodnight Miss Ann is a 1978 short documentary film directed by August Cinquegrana. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Squires of San Quentin
    Squires of San Quentin
    Squires of San Quentin is a 1978 short documentary film produced by J. Gary Mitchell. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The film was shot in San Quentin State Prison and depicts "The Squires," inmates who attempt to convince troubled children to avoid criminal...
    
    
• 1979 - Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
  Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
  Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist is a 1979 short documentary film directed by Saul J. Turell. It won an Academy Award in 1980 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:* Paul Robeson - Himself * Sidney Poitier - Narrator...
  
  - Saul J. Turell
  Saul J. Turell
  Saul J. Turell was a producer and maker of documentaries, and a distributor for classic film. He founded Sterling Films in 1946. In the early sixties, Sterling Films merged with the Walter Reade Organization, becoming Reade-Sterling, of which Turell was president...
  
  , Producer
  • Dae
    Dae (film)
    Dae is a 1979 Yugoslavian short documentary film directed by Stole Popov. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Koryo Celadon
    Koryo Celadon
    Koryo Celadon is a 1979 short documentary film directed by Paul Raimondi about Goryeo dynasty pottery. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Nails
    Nails (film)
    Nails is a 1979 Canadian short documentary film directed by Phillip Borsos. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.The subject of the film was simply the manufacturing process used to make nails.-External links:*...
    
    
  • Remember Me

1980s

• 1980 - Karl Hess: Toward Liberty
  Karl Hess: Toward Liberty
  Karl Hess: Toward Liberty is a 1980 short documentary film about the anarchist Karl Hess, produced by Roland Hallé and Peter W. Ladue. It won an Academy Award in 1981 for Documentary Short Subject. The film was produced at Boston University's College of Communications, School of Broadcasting and...
  
  - Roland Hallé and Peter W. Ladue, Producer
  • Don't Mess with Bill
    Don't Mess with Bill (film)
    Don't Mess with Bill is a 1980 short documentary film produced by Pen Densham. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!
    The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!
    The Eruption of Mount St. Helens! is a 1980 short documentary film directed by George Casey. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • It's the Same World
    It's the Same World
    It's the Same World is a 1980 short documentary film produced by Dick Young. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Luther Metke at 94
    Luther Metke at 94
    Luther Metke at 94 is a 1980 Argentine short documentary film directed by Jorge Preloran. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1981 - Close Harmony - Nigel Noble
  Nigel Noble
  Nigel Noble is an English sound mixer, film director and producer. He won an Academy Award in 1982 for Close Harmony in the category of Documentary Short Subject...
  
  , Producer
  • Americas in Transition
    Americas in Transition
    Americas in Transition is a 1981 short documentary film directed by Obie Benz. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Journey for Survival
    Journey for Survival
    Journey for Survival is a 1981 short documentary film directed by Dick Young. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • See What I Say
    See What I Say
    See What I Say is a 1981 short documentary film produced by Linda Chapman, Pam LeBlanc and Freddi Stevens-Jacobi. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The subjects of the film are hearing-impaired women who discuss their use of sign language....
    
    
  • Urge to Build
    Urge to Build
    Urge to Build is a 1981 short documentary film directed by Roland Hallé. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1982 - If You Love This Planet
  If You Love This Planet
  If You Love This Planet is a 1982 short documentary film recording a lecture given to SUNY Plattsburgh students by physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. The movie was directed by Terri Nash and produced by Edward Le Lorrain for Studio...
  
  - Edward Le Lorrain and Terre Nash
  Terre Nash
  Terre Nash is a Canadian Oscar-winning film director. Her 1982 short documentary If You Love This Planet won the Academy Award for Best Documentary ....
  
  , Producers - National Film Board of Canada
  National Film Board of Canada
  The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
  
  
  • Gods of Metal
    Gods of Metal (film)
    Gods of Metal is a 1982 short documentary film produced by Robert Richter. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America
    The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America
    The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America is a 1982 short documentary film directed by Werner Schumann. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • To Live or Let Die
    To Live or Let Die
    To Live or Let Die is a 1982 short documentary film directed by Terry Sanders. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Traveling Hopefully
    Traveling Hopefully
    Traveling Hopefully is a 1982 short documentary film directed by John G. Avildsen. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1983 - Flamenco at 5:15
  Flamenco at 5:15
  Flamenco at 5:15 is a 1983 short documentary film directed by Cynthia Scott, taking audiences inside a flamenco dance class. Produced by Studio D, the women's studio of the National Film Board of Canada, the film won an Academy Award in 1984 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:*...
  
  - Cynthia Scott
  Cynthia Scott
  Cynthia Scott, RCA, is a film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. She won the 1983 Academy Award for her short documentary Flamenco at 5:15, produced by the National Film Board of Canada....
  
   and Adam Symansky, Producers - National Film Board of Canada
  National Film Board of Canada
  The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
  
  
  • Ihr zent frei
    You Are Free (film)
    You Are Free is a 1983 West German short documentary film directed by Dea Brokman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us?
    In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us?
    In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us? is a 1983 short documentary film directed by Eric Thiermann. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Sewing Woman
    Sewing Woman
    Sewing Woman is a 1983 short documentary film directed by Arthur Dong. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph
    Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph
    Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph is a 1983 short documentary film produced by Bob Eisenhardt. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-See also:*Paul Rudolph...
    
    
• 1984 - The Stone Carvers
  The Stone Carvers (film)
  The Stone Carvers is a 1984 short documentary film directed by Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner. It won an Academy Award in 1985 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:...
  
  - Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner, Producers
  • The Children of Soong Ching Ling
    The Children of Soong Ching Ling
    The Children of Soong Ching Ling is a 1984 Canadian short documentary film directed by Gary Bush. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing
    Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing
    Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing is a 1984 short documentary film directed by Joan Sawyer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Garden of Eden
    The Garden of Eden (1984 film)
    The Garden of Eden is a 1984 short documentary film directed by Roger M. Sherman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Vospominaniye o Pavlovske
    Recollections of Pavlovsk
    Recollections of Pavlovsk is a 1984 Soviet short documentary film directed by Irina Kalinina. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1985 - Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements
  Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements
  Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements is a 1985 short documentary film directed by Deborah Shaffer. It won an Academy Award in 1986 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:* Charlie Clements - Himself...
  
  - David Goodman
  David Goodman
  David Goodman may refer to:* David Goodman , member of the Ohio Senate* David Goodman , Australian Paralympian* David A. Goodman, American writer and producer* David G. Goodman, American Japanologist* David S...
  
  , Producer
  • The Courage to Care
    The Courage to Care
    The Courage to Care is a 1985 short documentary film directed by Robert H. Gardner. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date
    Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date
    Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date is a 1985 short documentary film directed by Jim Wolpaw. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra
    Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra
    Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra is a 1985 Canadian short documentary film directed by Larry Weinstein. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Wizard of the Strings
    The Wizard of the Strings
    The Wizard of the Strings is a 1985 short documentary film directed by Peter Friedman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1986 - Women – for America, for the World - Vivienne Verdon-Roe, Producer
  • Sam
    Sam (film)
    Sam is a 1986 short documentary film directed by Aaron D. Weisblatt. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse
    Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse
    Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse is a short film biography of the Nashville-born artist Red Grooms. It was written by Tom Neff, co-directed by Neff and Louise LeQuire, and produced by Neff and Madeline Bell...
    
    
  • The Master of Disaster
    The Master of Disaster
    The Master of Disaster is a 1986 short documentary film produced by Sonya Friedman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Debonair Dancers
    Debonair Dancers
    Debonair Dancers is a 1986 short Canadian documentary film produced by Alison Nigh-Strelich. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1987 - Young at Heart
  Young at Heart (1987 film)
  Young at Heart is a 1987 short documentary film produced by Pamela Conn and Sue Marx. It won an Academy Award in 1988 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Sue Marx and Pamela Conn, Producers
  • Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller
    Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller
    Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller is a 1987 short documentary film produced by Deborah Dickson. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • In the Wee Wee Hours...
    In the Wee Wee Hours...
    In the Wee Wee Hours... is a 1987 short documentary film directed by Izak Ben-Meir. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Language Says It All
    Language Says It All
    Language Says It All is a 1987 short documentary film produced by Megan Williams. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Silver Into Gold
    Silver Into Gold
    Silver Into Gold is a 1987 short documentary film produced by Lynn Mueller. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1988 - You Don't Have to Die
  You Don't Have to Die
  You Don't Have to Die is a 1988 short documentary film directed by Malcolm Clarke and Bill Guttentag. It won an Academy Award in 1989 for Documentary Short Subject.-Cast:* Jason Gaes - Himself* Adam Gaes - Himself* Craig Gaes - Himself...
  
  - William Guttentag and Malcolm Clarke
  Malcolm Clarke
  Malcolm Clarke was a British composer, and a member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for 25 years from 1969 to 1994.Clarke proved somewhat controversial when he joined the workshop, due to his views that Radiophonic music should be, in his words, "fine art," a philosophy that was not shared by...
  
  , Producers
  • Gang Cops
    Gang Cops
    Gang Cops is a 1988 short documentary film directed by Thomas B. Fleming. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Family Gathering
    Family Gathering
    Family Gathering is a 1988 short documentary film by Lise Yasui, exploring three generations of her Japanese-American family, from their immigration to Oregon in the early 1900s through their imprisonment in internment camps during World War Two. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best...
    
    
  • The Children's Storefront
    The Children's Storefront (film)
    The Children's Storefront is a 1988 short documentary film directed by Karen Goodman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Portrait of Imogen
    Portrait of Imogen
    Portrait of Imogen is a 1988 short documentary film directed by Meg Partridge. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
• 1989 - The Johnstown Flood
  The Johnstown Flood (1989 film)
  The Johnstown Flood is a 1989 short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim about the Johnstown Flood. It won the Academy Award at the 62nd Academy Awards for Documentary Short Subject.-Release history:...
  
  - Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
  
  , Producer
  • Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9
    Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9
    Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9 is a 1989 short documentary film produced by David Petersen. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future
    Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future
    Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future is a 1989 short documentary film produced by Ray Errol Fox. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

1990s

• 1990 - Days of Waiting - Steven Okazaki
  Steven Okazaki
  Steven Okazaki is an American filmmaker. He is Sansei Japanese American and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area...
  
  , Producer
  • Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember
    Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember
    Rose Kennedy: A Life To Remember is a short documentary directed by Terry Sanders and produced by Sanders with Freida Lee Mock. It was nominated for a "Documentary Short Subject" Academy Award in 1991....
    
    
  • Chimps: So Like Us
    Chimps: So Like Us
    Chimps: So Like Us is a 1990 short documentary film directed by Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The half hour film, shot on location in New York, Arizona and Tanzania profiles the work of Jane Goodall. The film has been broadcasted...
    
    
  • Burning Down Tomorrow
    Burning Down Tomorrow
    Burning Down Tomorrow is a 1990 short documentary film produced and directed by Kit Thomas. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Journey Into Life: The World of the Unborn
    Journey Into Life: The World of the Unborn
    Journey Into Life: The World of the Unborn is a 1990 short documentary film directed by Derek Bromhall. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1991 - Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment
  Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment
  Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment is a 1991 short documentary film directed by Debra Chasnoff. It won an Academy Award at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:*...
  
  - Debra Chasnoff
  Debra Chasnoff
  Debra Chasnoff is an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and activist whose films address progressive social justice issues. Her production company GroundSpark produces and distributes films, educational resources and campaigns on issues ranging from environmental concerns to affordable...
  
  , Producer
  • A Little Vicious
    A Little Vicious
    A Little Vicious is a 1991 short documentary film directed by Immy Humes. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Mark of the Maker
    The Mark of the Maker
    The Mark of the Maker is a 1991 short documentary film produced by David McGowan. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Birdnesters of Thailand
    Birdnesters of Thailand
    Birdnesters of Thailand is a 1991 French short documentary film directed by Éric Valli. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers
    Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers
    Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers is a 1991 short documentary film directed by Bill Couturié. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1992 - Educating Peter
  Educating Peter
  Educating Peter is a 1992 short documentary film directed by Gerardine Wurzburg about Peter Gwazdauskas, a special needs student with Down's syndrome, and his inclusion in a standard third grade classroom in Blacksburg, Virginia. It won an Academy Award in 1993 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
   - Thomas C. Goodwin (posthumous win) and Gerardine Wurzburg
  • When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories
    When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories
    When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories is a 1992 short documentary film directed by Dorothy Fadiman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    - Dorothy Fadiman
  • At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai
    At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai
    At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai is a 1992 short documentary film directed by Geoffrey O'Connor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 65th Academy Awards....
    
    - Geoffrey O'Connor
  • Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the 'Little Review'
    Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the 'Little Review'
    Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the 'Little Review' is a 1992 short documentary film about Margaret Caroline Anderson, produced by Wendy L. Weinberg. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    - Wendy L. Weinberg
  • The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein
    The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein
    The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein is a 1992 short animated documentary directed by Joyce Borenstein about her father, the Canadian painter Sam Borenstein. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. In Canada, it was named best short documentary at the...
    
    - Richard Elson & Sally Bochner

• 1993 - Defending Our Lives
  Defending Our Lives
  Defending Our Lives is a 1993 short documentary film directed by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich. It won an Academy Award at the 66th Academy Awards in 1994 for Documentary Short Subject.-See also:...
  
   - Margaret Lazarus, Renner Wunderlich
  • Chicks in White Satin
    Chicks in White Satin
    Chicks in White Satin is a 1994 short documentary film about the Jewish same-sex marriage of two lesbians, including interviews with the Rabbi and various family members. The film was directed by Elaine Holliman and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann
    Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann
    Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann is a 1994 short documentary film directed by Steven Cantor and Peter Spirer. It was premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1994 - A Time for Justice
  A Time for Justice
  A Time for Justice is a 1994 short documentary film produced by Charles Guggenheim. It won an Academy Award in 1995 for Documentary Short Subject. The film was produced by Guggenheim and the Southern Poverty Law Center.-External links:...
  
  - Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim
  Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
  
  
  • 89 mm od Europy
    89mm from Europe
    89mm from Europe is a 1993 Polish short documentary film directed by Marcel Łoziński, looking at the 89 mm difference in track gauge between Russian and European railroads. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Blues Highway
    Blues Highway (film)
    Blues Highway is a 1994 short documentary film directed by Bill Guttentag and Vince DiPersio. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • School of the Americas Assassins
    School of the Americas Assassins
    School of the Americas Assassins is a 1994 short documentary film about human rights abuses by graduates of School of the Americas. Produced by Robert Richter, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Straight from the Heart
    Straight from the Heart (1994 film)
    Straight from the Heart is a 1994 short documentary film directed by Dee Mosbacher and co-directed by Frances Reid. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1995 - One Survivor Remembers
  One Survivor Remembers
  One Survivor Remembers is a 1995 documentary short film by Kary Antholis in which Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein recounts her six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty, including the loss of her parents, brother, friends, home, possessions, and community.A production of HBO and the...
  
  - Kary Antholis
  Kary Antholis
  Kary Antholis is an American executive at the television network HBO who has overseen some of its groundbreaking socially conscious programming. He is also an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker.-Biography:...
  
  
  • Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls
    Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls
    Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls is a 1995 short documentary film about artist Jim Dine produced by Nancy Dine. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Shadow of Hate
    The Shadow of Hate
    The Shadow of Hate is a 1995 short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Living Sea
    The Living Sea
    The Living Sea is a 70mm American documentary film exploring marine locales intended to show the importance of protecting the ocean, released to IMAX theaters in 1995...
    
    
  • Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper
    Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper
    Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper is a 1995 short documentary film about Herbert Zipper, written, directed, and produced by Terry Sanders, with Freida Lee Mock co-producing. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 68th Academy Awards in 1996....
    
    

• 1996 - Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
  Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
  Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien is a 1996 short documentary film directed by Jessica Yu. It won an Academy Award at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997 for Documentary Short Subject....
  
  - Jessica Yu
  Jessica Yu
  Jessica Lingman Yu is an American film director, writer, producer, and editor. She has worked on documentaries, dramatic films, and television shows. Yu won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien .-Early life:Yu graduated from Gunn...
  
   director, producer, writer and editor
  • Cosmic Voyage
    Cosmic Voyage
    Cosmic Voyage is a 1996 short documentary produced in the IMAX format, directed by Bayley Silleck, produced by Jeffrey Marvin, and narrated by Morgan Freeman. The film was presented by the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum,...
    
    
  • Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
    Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
    Special Effects: Anything Can Happen is an American documentary film directed by Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt and narrated by John Lithgow. It was released to IMAX theaters in 1996.-Overview:...
    
    
  • The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage
    The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage
    The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage is a 1996 short documentary film directed by Paul Seydor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-Cast:* Walon Green - Himself * Newell Alexander - Cliff Coleman, William Holden...
    
    
  • An Essay on Matisse
    An Essay on Matisse
    An Essay on Matisse is a 1996 short documentary film directed by Perry Wolff. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1997 - A Story of Healing
  A Story of Healing
  A Story of Healing is a short documentary film in which Donna Dewey follows a team of five nurses, four anesthesiologists, and three plastic surgeons from Interplast in the United States for two weeks of volunteer work in the Mekong delta of Vietnam...
  
  - Donna Dewey, Carol Pasternak
  • Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
    Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
    Alaska: Spirit of the Wild is a 70mm Academy Award-nominated American documentary film featuring the landscape and wildlife of Alaska. It is narrated by Charlton Heston and released to IMAX theaters in 1997....
    
    
  • Amazon
    Amazon (1997 film)
    Amazon is a 1997 short documentary film directed by Kieth Merrill. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.The film features ethnobiologist Mark Plotkin, who discusses the role of rainforest conservation and the benefits of investigating it further in the interest of...
    
    
  • Family Video Diaries: Daughter of the Bride
    Family Video Diaries: Daughter of the Bride
    Family Video Diaries: Daughter of the Bride is a 1997 short documentary film directed by Terri Randall. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies
    Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies
    Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies is a 1997 short documentary film directed by Mel Damski. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 1998 - The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years - Keiko Ibi
  • A Place in the Land
    A Place in the Land
    A Place in the Land is a 1998 short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square
    Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square
    Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square is a 1998 National Film Board of Canada short animated documentary directed by Shui-Bo Wang. It is an autobiography about the director's life, career and ultimate disillusionment with The People's Republic of China...
    
    - National Film Board of Canada
    National Film Board of Canada
    The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
    
    

• 1999 - King Gimp
  King Gimp
  King Gimp is a 1999 documentary that was awarded the 2000 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary and 2000 Peabody Award. "King Gimp" followed the life of artist Dan Keplinger of Towson, Maryland, who has cerebral palsy. Filmmakers Susan Hannah Hadary and William A...
  
  - Susan Hannah Hadary, William A. Whiteford
  • Eyewitness
    Eyewitness (1999 film)
    Eyewitness is a 1999 short documentary film directed by Bert Van Bork. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo
    The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo
    The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo is a 1999 short documentary film directed by Simeon Soffer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

2000s

• 2000 - Big Mama
  Big Mama (film)
  Big Mama is a 2000 documentary film by Tracy Seretean. It chronicles the struggle of 89-year-old Viola Dees and her fight to retain custody of her grandson. It illustrates many of the difficulties facing an increasing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren in the USA today...
  
  - Tracy Seretean
  Tracy Seretean
  Tracy Seretean is an American filmmaker who directed and co-produced Big Mama , which won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. She also produced The Third Monday in October .-References:...
  
  
  • Curtain Call
    Curtain Call (2000 film)
    Curtain Call is a 2000 short documentary film directed by Charles Braverman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Dolphins
    Dolphins (film)
    Dolphins is an IMAX documentary produced in 2000. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. Directed by Greg MacGillivray, with Chris Palmer serving as executive producer, this feature follows a few scientists studying dolphins as...
    
    
  • On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom
    On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom
    On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom is a 2000 short documentary film directed by Eric Simonson. It tells the story of South African singers Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • The Man on Lincoln's Nose
    The Man on Lincoln's Nose
    The Man on Lincoln's Nose is a 2000 short documentary film directed by Daniel Raim. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-Cast:* James D. Bissell - Himself* Robert F. Boyle - Himself* Henry Bumstead - Himself...
    
    

• 2001 - Thoth
  Thoth (film)
  Thoth is a documentary film by Sarah Kernochan and Lynn Appelle about the life of New York-based street performer S. K. Thoth. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2002....
  
  - Sarah Kernochan
  Sarah Kernochan
  Sarah Kernochan is a documentarian, film director, screenwriter and producer from the United States.After graduating in 1965 from Rosemary Hall , where she was a classmate of Glenn Close, and in 1968 from Sarah Lawrence College, she worked as a ghostwriter for The Village Voice for about a year...
  
   and Lynn Appelle
  • Artists and Orphans: A True Drama
    Artists and Orphans: A True Drama
    Artists and Orphans: A True Drama is a 2001 documentary about an American theatre troupe visiting the country of Georgia. The film was nominated for an Oscar at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002 for Best Documentary Short Subject....
    
    
  • Sing!
    Sing!
    Sing! is a 2001 short documentary film directed by Freida Lee Mock. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 2002 - Twin Towers - Bill Guttentag
  Bill Guttentag
  Bill Guttentag is a two-time Oscar winning documentary and feature film writer-producer-director.-Career:In 1988, Guttentag won an Oscar for Best Documentary with his HBO film "You Don't Have to Die," telling the story of one boy's battle against cancer...
  
  , Robert David Port, directors
  • The Collector of Bedford Street
    The Collector of Bedford Street
    The Collector of Bedford Street is a 2002 documentary film about director Alice Elliott's neighbor, Larry Selman, a community activist and fundraiser who has an intellectual disability.-Film content:...
    
    - Welcome Change Productions - Alice Elliott
    Alice Elliott
    Alice Elliott is an director, a writer, producer, college level teacher, advocate for the disabled, cinematographer, and a founding member of New Day Films, an educational film distribution cooperative....
    
     producer and director
  • Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks
    Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks
    Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks is a 2002 short documentary film directed by Robert Houston and produced by Robert Hudson. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-Cast:* Coretta Scott King - Herself...
    
    - Tell the Truth Pictures - Robert Hudson
    Robert Hudson
    -People:*Robert Hudson , British actor*Robert Hudson , British broadcaster on cricket, rugby and state occasions*Robert Hudson , British novelist and comedy writer...
    
     producer - Robert Houston
    Robert Houston
    Robert Houston is an American actor and filmmaker from California. Robert first became known for his character Bobby in Wes Craven's 1977 horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. He directed the samurai epic Shogun Assassin in 1981. Robert also wrote and directed a few more mainly independent films in...
    
     director
  • Why Can't We Be a Family Again?
    Why Can't We Be a Family Again?
    Why Can't We Be a Family Again? is a 2002 short documentary film directed by Murray Nossel. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    - Roger Weisberg, Murray Nossel directors

• 2003 - Chernobyl Heart
  Chernobyl Heart
  Chernobyl Heart is a 2003 documentary film by Maryann DeLeo. The film won the Best Documentary Short Subject award at the 2004 Academy Awards....
  
   - Maryann DeLeo
  • Asylum
    Asylum (2003 film)
    Asylum is a 2003 short documentary film directed by Sandy McLeod. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    - Sandy McLeod and Gini Reticker
  • Ferry Tales
    Ferry Tales
    Ferry Tales is a 2003 American short documentary film produced and directed by Katja Esson. It followed the conversations of women in the powder room of the Staten Island Ferry during the morning commute from Staten Island to Manhattan. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Short...
    
    - Katja Esson

• 2004 - Mighty Times: The Children's March
  Mighty Times: The Children's March
  Mighty Times: The Children's March is a 2004 short documentary film about the Birmingham civil rights marches. It was directed by Robert Houston and produced by Robert Hudson. The film won an Academy Award in 2005 for Documentary Short Subject...
  
   – Robert Houston
  Robert Houston
  Robert Houston is an American actor and filmmaker from California. Robert first became known for his character Bobby in Wes Craven's 1977 horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. He directed the samurai epic Shogun Assassin in 1981. Robert also wrote and directed a few more mainly independent films in...
  
   and Robert Hudson
  Robert Hudson (producer)
  Robert Hudson is a documentary filmmaker, born May 23, 1960 in Seattle, Washington. He won an Academy Award in the category Documentary Short Subject for the film Mighty Times: The Children's March.-Filmography:* Rock The Boat...
  
  
  • Autism Is a World
    Autism Is a World
    Autism Is a World is a short subject documentary film written by Sue Rubin, a woman with autism who learned to communicate via facilitated communication, produced and directed by Gerardine Wurzburg and co-produced by the CNN cable network. It was nominated in the 77th annual Academy Awards for...
    
    – Gerardine Wurzburg
  • The Children of Leningradsky
    The Children of Leningradsky
    The Children of Leningradsky is a 2005 Polish short documentary film directed by Andrzej Celinski and Hanna Polak. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    – Hanna Polak
    Hanna Polak
    Hanna Polakhttp://www.hannapolak.com Oscar-nominated director and producer, was born in 1967 in Katowice, Poland.From 1987–88 she worked as a stage performer in the Theatre of Entertainment, Chorzov. From 1989–91 Polak studied acting and theatre at the Acting School in Wroclav and Warsaw...
    
     and Andrzej Celinski
  • Hardwood – Hubert Davis
    Hubert Davis (filmmaker)
    Hubert Davis is a Canadian filmmaker who was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming for his directorial debut in Hardwood, a short documentary exploring the life of his father, former Harlem Globetrotter Mel...
    
     and Erin Faith Young
  • Sister Rose's Passion
    Sister Rose's Passion
    "Sister Rose's Passion" is a 2004 short documentary film directed by Oren Jacoby. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and won the Best Documentary Short Award at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival....
    
    – Oren Jacoby
    Oren Jacoby
    Oren Jacoby is a director and producer of documentary films, including Constantine's Sword , "Sister Rose's Passion" , The Shakespeare Sessions , Stage on Screen: The Topdog Diaries , The Beatles Revolution , and Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself...
    
     and Steve Kalafer

• 2005 - A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
  A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
  A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin is a 2005 documentary short subject about writer Norman Corwin. In addition to Corwin, the cast includes Robert Altman, Norman Lear, Walter Cronkite, Studs Terkel, and radio historians Timothy Troy and Norman Gilliland.On March 5, 2006 it won the...
  
  
  • The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
    The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
    The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club aka The Life of Kevin Carter is a 2004 American documentary short subject about the suicide of South African photojournalist Kevin Carter. The film was produced and directed by Dan Krauss...
    
    
  • God Sleeps in Rwanda
    God Sleeps in Rwanda
    God Sleeps in Rwanda is a 2005 documentary short subject about five women affected by the Rwandan genocide.On January 31, 2006 it was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. It lost to A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.-External links:*...
    
    
  • The Mushroom Club
    The Mushroom Club
    The Mushroom Club is a 2005 documentary short subject, directed by Steven Okazaki.The short film is about the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and its effects on the residents of that city sixty years later....
    
    

• 2006 - The Blood of Yingzhou District
  The Blood of Yingzhou District
  The Blood of Yingzhou District is a 2006 short film documentary directed by Ruby Yang and produced by Thomas F. Lennon. The film is about the effect of AIDS on orphans in Yingzhou District of Fuyang, Anhui, China...
  
  
  • Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story
    Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story
    Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story is a 2006 short documentary film directed by Nathaniel Kahn. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. It tells the story of pianist Leon Fleisher....
    
    
  • Recycled Life
    Recycled Life
    Recycled Life is a 2006 short documentary film directed by Leslie Iwerks. It relays the story of a massive toxic landfill near Guatemala City, and the local residents who scavenge there to eke out their meager living. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Rehearsing a Dream
    Rehearsing a Dream
    Rehearsing a Dream is a short documentary directed and produced by four time Academy Award nominees Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon. Cinematography by Buddy Squires and Steve McCarthy, edited by Nancy Baker and a Production of Simon & Goodman Picture Company. The film premiered on HBO in August 2007...
    
    

• 2007
  2007 in film
  This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
  
   - Freeheld
  Freeheld
  Freeheld is a 2007 documentary film directed by Cynthia Wade, and produced by Wade, Matthew Syrett and Vanessa Roth. It chronicles the story of Laurel Hester in her fight against the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders to give her earned pension benefits to her partner, Stacie. On...
  
  
  • La Corona
    La Corona (film)
    La Corona is a 2007 short documentary film about a beauty pageant in a prison for women, directed by Amanda Micheli. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Salim Baba
    Salim Baba
    Salim Baba is a 2007 short documentary film directed by Tim Sternberg. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    
  • Sari's Mother
    Sari's Mother
    Sari's Mother is a 2007 short documentary film directed by James Longley. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
    
    

• 2008
  2008 in film
  This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
  
   - Smile Pinki
  Smile Pinki
  Smile Pinki is a 39-minute documentary directed by Megan Mylan. The film shows the story of a poor girl in rural India whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip...
  
  
  • The Conscience of Nhem En
    The Conscience of Nhem En
    The Conscience of Nhem En is a 26-minute documentary directed by Steven Okazaki, telling the stories of three survivors of the Tuol Sleng Prison. Also known as S-21, Tuol Sleng was where 17,000 Cambodians were imprisoned and killed in the late 1970s...
    
    
  • The Final Inch
    The Final Inch
    The Final Inch is a short documentary about the effort to eradicate polio. It was directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky and focuses on health workers who are on the front lines of the fight to eliminate the disease....
    
    
  • The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

• 2009
  2009 in film
  The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
  
   - Music by Prudence
  Music by Prudence
  Music by Prudence is a 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the uplifting story of the now 24-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, and follows her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music,...
  
  
  • China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
  • The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
  • The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
  • Rabbit à la Berlin
    Rabbit à la Berlin
    Rabbit à la Berlin is a 2009 documentary film, directed by Bartek Konopka. The script was written by Konopka and Mateusz Romaszkan, and the movie was a joint German-Polish production with the producers Heino Deckert and Anna Wydra. It was nominated for an Oscar in 2010 for "Best Documentary, Short...
    
    

2010s

• 2010
  2010 in film
  The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
  
   - Strangers No More
  Strangers No More (film)
  Strangers No More is a short documentary film about a school in Tel Aviv, Israel where children from forty-eight different countries and diverse backgrounds come together to learn...
  
   – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
  • Killing in the Name
    Killing in the Name (film)
    Killing in the Name is a 2010 documentary film on Islamic terrorism. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 83rd Academy Awards on January 25, 2011 but lost to Strangers No More....
    
     – Jed Rothstein
  • Poster Girl
    Poster Girl (film)
    Poster Girl is a 2010 documentary film about an American soldier's experience with posttraumatic stress disorder after returning from the Iraq War. The film showed at the 37th Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2010...
    
     – Sara Nesson
  • Sun Come Up
    Sun Come Up (film)
    Sun Come Up is a 2010 documentary film on the effect of global warming on the Carteret Islands. The film showed at the 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival on April 8. It was named as a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 83rd Academy Awards on January 25, 2011 but lost...
    
     – Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
  • The Warriors of Qiugang
    The Warriors of Qiugang
    The Warriors of Qiugang is a 39-minute documentary film that chronicles the story of the Chinese village of Qiugang , in the suburbs of Bengbu City in Anhui Province in central-eastern China. It tells how a group of Chinese villagers put an end to the poisoning of their land and water by three...
    
     – Ruby Yang
    Ruby Yang
    Ruby Yang , is a Chinese American filmmaker.Originally from Hong Kong, Yang has worked on a range of feature and documentary films exploring Chinese themes as director and editor. Her work has been nominated twice for an Academy Award, winning once and received other awards including the Emmy...
    
     and Thomas Lennon