‘Sugarcane’ Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

Sugarcane leads the nominations for the 2024 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, with eight nods, including for best documentary feature.

At the First Ever San Quentin Film Festival, One Filmmaker Wins a Prize -- and Parole

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, Daughters and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story received six nominations each, including for best documentary feature.

The other best documentary feature nominees are The Greatest Night in Pop, Jim Henson Idea Man, Music by John Williams, Piece by Piece, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin and Will & Harper .

In addition to best doc feature, Sugarcane , which investigates the abusive legacy of Catholic-run Native American missionary schools, is up for best director and best new documentary filmmakers (Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie), best cinematography (Christopher LaMarca and Emily Kassie), best editing (Nathan Punwar and Maya Daisy Hawk), best historical documentary, best political documentary and best true crime documentary.

Billy & Molly ‘s Charlie Hamilton James is up for best new documentary filmmaker and, with Johnny Rolt and Bertie Gregory, best cinematography. The film is also nominated for best score (Erland Cooper), best narration (written by Hamilton James and performed by Billy and Susan Mail) and best science/nature documentary.

Daughters is up for best director and best new documentary feature (Natalie Rae and Angela Patton), best cinematography (Michael Cambio Fernandez), best editing (Troy Lewis and Adelina Bichis) and best score (Kelsey Lu).

Super/Man is up for best director (Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui), best editing (Otto Burnham), best score (Ilan Eshkeri), best archival documentary and best biographical documentary.

The 9th annual Critics Choice Awards are set to be presented at a ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 10 at New York’s Edison Ballroom, hosted by Erich Bergen, which will be livestreamed on YouTube, X and Facebook.

A complete list of this year’s Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations follows.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
Daughters (Netflix)
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
Music by John Williams (Walt Disney Studios)
Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Will & Harper (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros.
Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Josh Greenbaum – Will & Harper (Netflix)
Ron Howard – Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – Daughters (Netflix)
Benjamin Ree – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)

BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER(S)
Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev – Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
Carla Gutiérrez – Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
Charlie Hamilton James – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
(National Geographic)
Sue Kim – The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – Daughters (Netflix)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Cambio Fernandez – Daughters (Netflix)
Charlie Hamilton James, Johnny Rolt, Bertie Gregory – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
(National Geographic)
Christopher LaMarca, Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Iris Ng, Eunsoo Cho, Justin Turkowski – The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
Zoë White – Will & Harper (Netflix)
Jessica Young – The Blue Angels (Amazon MGM Studios)

BEST EDITING
Otto Burnham – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios,
HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Rik Chaubet – Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
Paul Crowder – Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
Troy Lewis, Adelina Bichiș – Daughters (Netflix)
Nathan Punwar, Maya Daisy Hawke – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Robert Stengård – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)

Oscar Predictions via Feinberg Forecast: Updated Post-'Joker' Bomb, 'Blitz' Debut and International Deadline

BEST SCORE
Erland Cooper – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
Ilan Eshkeri – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios,
HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Nathan Halpern – Will & Harper (Netflix)
Uno Helmersson – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
Kelsey Lu – Daughters (Netflix)
Marc Shaiman – Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (HBO | Max)

BEST NARRATION
Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
Written by Mary Mazzio
Performed by Quannah ChasingHorse & Edward Norton
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
Written by Charlie Hamilton James
Performed by Billy Mail & Susan Mail
Dahomey (Mubi)
Written by Makenzy Orcel
Performed by Lucrece Houegbelo, Parfait Viayinon, Didier Sedoha Nassegande, and Sabine
Badjogoumin
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
Written and performed by Martin Scorsese
Queens (National Geographic)
Written by Chloë Sarosh
Performed by Angela Bassett
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces (Apple TV+)
Written and performed by Steve Martin

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Black Twitter: A People’s History (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
Documentary Films, CNN Films)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
Dahomey (Mubi)
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
I Am: Celine Dion (Amazon MGM Studios)
Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces (Apple TV+)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
Documentary Films, CNN Films)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
I Am: Celine Dion (Amazon MGM Studios)
Music by John Williams (Walt Disney Studios)
Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Hulu)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
Girls State (Apple TV+)
Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
Stopping the Steal (HBO | Max)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
The Truth vs. Alex Jones (HBO | Max)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Apollo 13: Survival (Netflix)
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
Blink (National Geographic)
The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
Secrets of the Octopus (National Geographic)
The Space Race (National Geographic)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Copa 71 (New Black Films)
The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+)
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (Netflix)
Mr. McMahon (Netflix)
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
The Turnaround (Netflix)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
American Nightmare (Netflix)
Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Incident (The New Yorker)
The Jinx – Part Two (HBO | Max)
Stopping the Steal (HBO | Max)
Sugarcane (National Geographic)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
I Am Ready, Warden (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
Incident (The New Yorker)
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World (Netflix)
Once Upon a Time in Ukraine (Earle Mack Productions, Storyville Films, Goldcrest Films)
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Netflix)
The Turnaround (Netflix)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
Black Twitter: A People’s History (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
Mr. McMahon (Netflix)
Ren Faire (HBO | Max)
Secrets of the Octopus (National Geographic)
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN)
America’s Most Wanted (Fox Broadcasting Company)
The Food That Built America (History)
Independent Lens (PBS)
The Jinx – Part Two (HBO | Max)
POV (PBS)

Critics Choice Awards Telecast Moving to E! From The CW