New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film
Encyclopedia
The New York Film Critics Circle for Best Non-Fiction Film is the award given for best feature documentary film
at the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards. The category was originally named Best Documentary and was awarded as such between 1980 and 1996. In 1997 it was discontinued and in 1998 it was relaunched under its current name.
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...
at the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards. The category was originally named Best Documentary and was awarded as such between 1980 and 1996. In 1997 it was discontinued and in 1998 it was relaunched under its current name.
Best Documentary (1980–1997)
| Year (ceremony) | Winner | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 (46th) | Best Boy Best Boy (film) Best Boy is a 1979 documentary made by Ira Wohl. The film achieved high critical acclaim, and won many awards including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1979.... |
Ira Wohl |
| 1981 (47th) | ||
| 1982 (48th) | ||
| 1983 (49th) | ||
| 1984 (50th) | The Times of Harvey Milk The Times of Harvey Milk The Times of Harvey Milk is an American documentary film that premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco... |
Rob Epstein Rob Epstein Rob Epstein, also credited as Robert P. Epstein, is a director, producer, writer and editor. Epstein has won two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature for the films The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.... |
| 1985 (51st) | Shoah Shoah (film) This page is about the film by the name of Shoah. For other uses, see Shoah Shoah is a 1985 French documentary film directed by Claude Lanzmann about the Holocaust... |
Claude Lanzmann Claude Lanzmann Claude Lanzmann is a French filmmaker and professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Biography:Lanzmann attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in Auvergne... |
| 1986 (52nd) | Marlene Marlene (1984 film) Marlene, also known in Germany as Marlene Dietrich - Porträt eines Mythos is a 1984 documentary film made by Maximilian Schell about the legendary film star Marlene Dietrich... |
Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961... |
| 1987 (53nd) | ||
| 1988 (54th) | The Thin Blue Line The Thin Blue Line (documentary) The Thin Blue Line is a 1988 documentary film by Errol Morris, depicting the story of Randall Dale Adams, a man convicted and sentenced to die for a murder he did not commit. Adams' case was reviewed and he was released from prison approximately a year after the film's release.-Synopsis:The film... |
Errol Morris Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris is an American director. In 2003, The Guardian put him seventh in its list of the world's 40 best directors. Also in 2003, his film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Early life and... |
| 1989 (55th) | Roger & Me Roger & Me Roger & Me is a 1989 American documentary film directed by Michael Moore. Moore portrays the regional negative economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's summary action of closing several auto plants in Flint, Michigan, costing 30,000 people their jobs at the time and economically... |
Michael Moore Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries... |
| 1990 (56th) | ||
| 1991 (57th) | Paris Is Burning Paris is Burning (film) Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it... |
Jennie Livingston Jennie Livingston Jennie Livingston is an American director best known for the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning.Livingston was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Los Angeles where she attended Beverly HIlls High School. She graduated from Yale University in 1983, where she studied photography, drawing, and... |
| 1992 (58th) | Brother's Keeper Brother's Keeper (film) Brother's Keeper is a 1992 documentary directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The film is about an alleged 1990 murder in the village of Munnsville, New York. The film is in the "Direct Cinema" style of the Maysles brothers who had formerly employed Berlinger and Sinofsky.The film contrasts... |
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky are a team of American documentary filmmakers that have received large critical acclaim and cult-fame since their debut true-crime film, Brother's Keeper -The West Memphis Three:... |
| 1993 (59th) | Visions of Light Visions of Light Visions of Light is a 1992 documentary film directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, and Stuart Samuels. The film is also known as Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography.... |
Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels |
| 1994 (60th) | Hoop Dreams Hoop Dreams Hoop Dreams is a 1994 documentary film directed by Steve James, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players.... |
Steve James Steve James (producer) Steve James is an American film producer and director of several documentaries, including the award-winning Hoop Dreams and Stevie. He is also the director of the 1997 feature film Prefontaine... |
| 1995 (61st) | Crumb Crumb (film) Crumb is a 1994 documentary film about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell and David Lynch, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival... |
Terry Zwigoff Terry Zwigoff Terry Zwigoff is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheros, and themes of alienation. His fiction films are the features Ghost World , Bad Santa , and Art School Confidential... |
| 1996 (62nd) | When We Were Kings When We Were Kings When We Were Kings is a 1996 documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the famous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire on October 30, 1974.The film features a number of celebrities, including James Brown, Jim... |
Leon Gast Leon Gast Leon Gast is an American documentary film director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. His documentary When We Were Kings depicting the iconic heavyweight boxing match termed The Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman won the 1996 Academy Award for Documentary Feature and... |
| 1997 (63nd) | Fast, Cheap & Out of Control | Errol Morris Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris is an American director. In 2003, The Guardian put him seventh in its list of the world's 40 best directors. Also in 2003, his film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Early life and... |
Best Non-Fiction Film (1998–present)
| Year (ceremony) | Winner | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 (64th) | The Farm: Angola, USA The Farm: Angola, USA The Farm: Angola, USA is a 1998 award-winning documentary set in America's infamous maximum security prison in Angola, Louisiana. It was produced by Jonathan Stack and Liz Garbus and directed by Stack, Garbus, and Wilbert Rideau.... |
Liz Garbus Liz Garbus Liz Garbus is an award-winning documentary film director and producer. Her most recent film, Bobby Fischer Against the World, opened the Premiere Documentary Section of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, reserved for master American documentary filmmakers... , Wilbert Rideau Wilbert Rideau Wilbert Rideau is a former death row inmate in Louisiana, as well as an author and award-winning prison journalist. Rideau was initially convicted of murder and served time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary... and Jonathan Stack Jonathan Stack Jonathan David Stack is an American documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Born in New York City to a teacher and worker, Jonathan spent much of his childhood exploring and took an early interest to film. He had the chance to travel a lot from a young age, which inspired him to learn about other... |
| 1999 (65th) | Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club (film) Buena Vista Social Club is a documentary film by Wim Wenders about the music of Cuba. It is named for a danzón that became the title piece of the album Buena Vista Social Club.-Synopsis:... |
Wim Wenders Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf... |
| 2000 (66th) | The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a documentary film directed, produced and written by Aviva Kempner about Hall of Fame first baseman Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers. A Jewish player who chose not to play on Yom Kippur in 1934 during a heated pennant race, Greenberg experienced a great... |
Aviva Kempner Aviva Kempner Aviva Kempner is an American filmmaker. Her documentaries investigate non-stereotypical images of Jews in history and focus on the untold stories of Jewish heroes. She is most well known for The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg.... |
| 2001 (67th) | The Gleaners and I The Gleaners and I The Gleaners and I is a French documentary by Agnès Varda that features various kinds of gleaning. It was entered into competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival , and later went on to earn awards around the world.... (Les glaneurs et la glaneuse) |
Agnès Varda Agnès Varda Agnès Varda is a French film director and professor at the European Graduate School. Her movies, photographs, and art installations focus on documentary realism, feminist issues, and social commentary — with a distinct experimental style.... |
| 2002 (68th 2002 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 68th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2002, were given on 16 December 2002 by the New York Film Critics Circle.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York*Best Actress:... ) |
Standing in the Shadows of Motown Standing in the Shadows of Motown (film) Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a 2002 documentary film directed by Paul Justman. It recounts the story of The Funk Brothers, the uncredited and largely unheralded studio musicians who performed on Motowns' recordings from 1959 to 1972.... |
Paul Justman |
| 2003 (69th 2003 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 69th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2003, were given on 15 December 2003 by the New York Film Critics Circle.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Bill Murray - Lost in Translation*Best Actress:... ) |
Capturing the Friedmans Capturing the Friedmans Capturing the Friedmans is a documentary film directed by Andrew Jarecki. It focuses on the 1980s investigation of Arnold and Jesse Friedman for child molestation... |
Andrew Jarecki Andrew Jarecki Andrew Jarecki is an American filmmaker, musician, and entrepreneur. He is best known for Capturing the Friedmans, which won eighteen international prizes including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the New York Film Critics Circle award, and was nominated for an Academy... |
| 2004 (70th 2004 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 70th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2004, were given on 13 December 2004 by the New York Film Critics Circle.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Paul Giamatti - Sideways*Best Actress:... ) |
Fahrenheit 9/11 Fahrenheit 9/11 Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media... |
Michael Moore Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries... |
| 2005 (71st 2005 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 71st New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were given on 12 December 2005 at the Algonquin Hotel, New York City, USA.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain*Best Actress:... ) |
Grizzly Man Grizzly Man Grizzly Man is a 2005 American documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. The film consists of Treadwell's own footage of his interactions with grizzly bears before he and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by a bear... (tied) |
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner... |
| The White Diamond The White Diamond The White Diamond is a 2004 documentary film by Werner Herzog. It illustrates the history of aviation and depicts the struggles and triumphs of Graham Dorrington, an aeronautical engineer, who has designed and built a teardrop-shaped airship which he plans to fly over the forest canopies of Guyana... (tied) |
||
| 2006 (72nd) | Deliver Us from Evil Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film) Deliver Us from Evil is a documentary film directed by Amy J. Berg which tells the true story of Catholic priest Oliver O'Grady, who admitted to having molested and raped approximately 25 children in Northern California between the late 1970s and early 1990s... |
Amy J. Berg Amy J. Berg Amy J. Berg is an American film maker, known best for her Academy Award-nominated document film Deliver Us from Evil about the sex abuse cases in Roman Catholic Church and an abusive native Irish priest Oliver O'Grady... |
| 2007 (73rd) | No End in Sight No End in Sight No End in Sight is a 2007 documentary film about the American occupation of Iraq. The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winning documentary film producer Charles H. Ferguson. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film opened in limited release... |
Charles H. Ferguson Charles H. Ferguson Charles Henry Ferguson is the founder and president of Representational Pictures, Inc., director and producer of No End In Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq and Inside Job , which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary... |
| 2008 (74th) | Man on Wire Man on Wire Man on Wire is a 2008 British documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Philippe Petit's book, To Reach the Clouds, recently released in paperback with the new title... |
James Marsh James Marsh (director) James Marsh is a film director known for directing the cult film Wisconsin Death Trip starring Marcus Monroe and Sir Ian Holm. He won 2008 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for directing Man on Wire.... |
| 2009 (75th 2009 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 75th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2009, were announced on 14 December 2009.-Winners:*Best Actor:**George Clooney – Up in the Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox*Best Actress:... ) |
Of Time and the City Of Time and the City Of Time and the City is a 2008 documentary film directed by Terence Davies.The film has Davies recalling his life growing up in Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s, using newsreel and documentary footage supplemented by his own commentary voiceover and contemporaneous and classical music... |
Terence Davies |
| 2010 (76th 2010 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 76th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2010, were announced on 12 December 2010.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Colin Firth – The King's Speech*Best Actress:**Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right... ) |
Inside Job Inside Job (film) Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson. The film is described by Ferguson as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption." In five... |
Charles H. Ferguson Charles H. Ferguson Charles Henry Ferguson is the founder and president of Representational Pictures, Inc., director and producer of No End In Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq and Inside Job , which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary... |
| 2011 (77th 2011 New York Film Critics Circle Awards The 77th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2011, were announced on 29 November 2011.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Brad Pitt – Moneyball and The Tree of Life2. Michael Fassbender - Shame3. Jean Dujardin - The Artist... ) |
Cave of Forgotten Dreams Cave of Forgotten Dreams Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a 2010 3-D documentary film by Werner Herzog, about the Chauvet Cave in southern France. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and consists of footage filmed inside the cave as well as interviews with various scientists and historians... |
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner... |
External links
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...