‘Orwell: 2+2=5’ & ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ Lead Nominations For The 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards

It is my great pleasure to share the nominations for the 10th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, an event that I co-created and continue to produce as part of my role as VP, Documentary for the Critics Choice Association. Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5, which combines a biography of George Orwell with a visual collage representing the legacy of his work in these heavily authoritarian times, leads the pack with seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director.

Geeta Gandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor, which arrives on Netflix this Friday, is close behind with six nominations, also including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director. That film follows a murder case before and after the incident, depicted almost entirely from the perspective of police officers’ body cameras. I’ve written in the past that this is a big year for Gandbhir, and that’s proven in these nominations. In addition to the six nods for her feature, her short film The Devil Is Busy received one for Best Short Documentary. She also executive-produced another short film in the running in that category, Exodus, and she directed an episode of the two-time nominated series Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015.

Speaking of Exodus and Eyes on the Prize III, Rudy Valdez was also an executive producer on the former and one of the directors of the latter. He helmed the feature Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024, which is nominated for Best Sports Documentary. Other multi-nominees include Questlove, a director of two of this year’s Best Music Documentary contenders, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music. The latter is also up for Best Editing.

Davis Guggenheim, who directed the four-time nominee Deaf President Now! is also an executive producer on the nominated features Mistress Dispeller and The Tale of Silyan. Liz Garbus, who helmed the two-time nominated true-crime series Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, also served as an executive producer on the Best Historical Documentary contender Number One on the Call Sheet.

Other interesting narratives with this year’s nominees include the recognition of two famous actors, Ben Stiller and Mariska Hargitay, for their first documentary features as directors, which are both about their parents. Another of their competitors in the Best First Documentary Feature category is also by the child of one of its subjects: Linus O’Brien’s Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror. My favorite narrative, as it is every year, though, is how many returning nominees are mixed with fresh faces.

Here is my quote about this year’s nominees from the CCA’s announcement: “The nominated films and series this year remind us how documentary storytelling can illuminate truth, inspire empathy, and deepen our understanding of the world. We’re thrilled to recognize the filmmakers whose vision and dedication keep the art form evolving.” In full disclosure, I lead the nominating process for the CCDAs. Thanks to all the CCA members who screen hundreds of films and series and serve on our nominating committee. There have been so many great documentaries this year, so it was a very difficult job.

Now, here are the nominees for the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, the winners of which will be revealed in a live-streamed ceremony on November 9 (and where to watch the films and series right now):

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
2000 Meters to Andriivka (airing on PBS in December)
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Cover-Up (in theaters starting December 19, ahead of its Netflix premiere)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Riefenstahl (in theaters)
The Tale of Silyan (coming soon to theaters and Disney+)

BEST DIRECTOR
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (airing on PBS in December)
Petra Costa – Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman – The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Raoul Peck – Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Art for Everybody (coming soon)
Grand Theft Hamlet (Mubi)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Seeds (coming soon)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (in theaters starting October 17, ahead of its Apple TV
premiere on October 24)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (in theaters)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ben Bernard – Architecton (VOD)
Jean Dakar – The Tale of Silyan (coming soon to theaters and Disney+)
Elizabeth Lo – Mistress Dispeller (in theaters starting October 22)
Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo & Tor Edvin Eliassen – Folktales (VOD)
Brittany Shyne – Seeds (coming soon)
Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) – Ocean with David
Attenborough (Hulu and Disney+)

BEST EDITING
Michael Harte – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
James Lester & Oz Rodríguez, John MacDonald (Music Montage) – Ladies &
Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (Peacock)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Page Marsella – The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Michelle Mizner – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (airing on PBS in December)
Alexandra Strauss – Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)

BEST SCORE
Alexei Aigui – Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)
Kris Bowers – The Eyes of Ghana (coming soon)
Laura Heinzinger – The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Claudia Sarne – Love + War (in theaters starting October 29, ahead of its Disney+
premiere on November 4)
Sam Slater – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (airing on PBS in December)
Paweł Szymański – Trains (coming soon)

BEST NARRATION

2000 Meters to Andriivka (airing on PBS in December)
Written by Mstyslav Chernov
Performed by Mstyslav Chernov

The American Revolution (premieres on PBS on November 16)
Written by Geoffrey C. Ward
Performed by Peter Coyote

The Americas (Peacock)
Written by Michael Gunton, Holly Spearing, Steve Cole, Kathryn Jeffs, Matt
Richards, Giles Badger, Victoria Buckley, Alex Griffiths, Hannah Hoare, Poppy
Riddle, Gillian Taylor, Nikki Waldron, Evie Wright, Charlotte Bostock, Victoria
Bobin, & Ingrid Kvale
Performed by Tom Hanks

Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Written by Petra Costa
Performed by Petra Costa

Octopus! (Prime Video)
Written by Gabriel Bisset-Smith
Performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)
Written by George Orwell, Adapted by Raoul Peck
Performed by Damian Lewis

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
One to One: John & Yoko (VOD)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)
The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Riefenstahl (in theaters)
Trains (coming soon)
WTO/99 (coming soon)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
The American Revolution (premieres on PBS on November 16)
Cover-Up (in theaters starting December 19, ahead of its Netflix premiere)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Hulu and Disney+)
Number One on the Call Sheet (Apple TV)
Riefenstahl (in theaters)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
Love + War (in theaters starting October 29, ahead of its Disney+
premiere on November 4)
Mr. Scorsese (premieres on Apple TV on October 17)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (in theaters starting October 17, ahead of its Apple TV
premiere on October 24)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Netflix)
Billy Joel: And So It Goes (HBO Max)
Bono: Stories of Surrender (Apple TV)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (VOD)
Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (Peacock)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
The Librarians (in theaters; premieres on PBS on February 6 via Independent Lens)
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow (tbd)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Americas (Peacock)
Checkpoint Zoo (tbd)
The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (Hulu and Disney+)
Ocean with David Attenborough (Hulu and Disney+)
Octopus! (Prime Video)
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys (Netflix)
Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024 (ESPN+)
Full Court Press (ESPN+)
Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott (ESPN+)
We Beat the Dream Team (HBO Max)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
The Perfect Neighbor (premiering on Netflix on October 17)
Predators (coming soon to Paramount+ with Showtime)
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (Netflix)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
All the Empty Rooms (coming soon to Netflix)
Classroom 4 (airing on PBS on November 25 via POV)
The Devil is Busy (HBO Max)
Exodus (tbd)
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space (tbd)
Sallie’s Ashes (tbd)
Saving Superman (premieres on Switchboard on November 10)
Shanti Rides Shotgun (tbd)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The American Revolution (premieres on PBS on November 16)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Hulu and Disney+)
Magic City: An American Fantasy (Starz)
Mr. Scorsese (premieres on Apple TV on October 17)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN+)
American Masters (PBS)
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV)
Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross (Roku Channel)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Hulu)
Trainwreck (Netflix)