The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) jointly unveiled the nominations for the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, honoring the finest achievements in documentary features and non-fiction TV. The winners will be announced and honored during a gala ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 2, at BRIC in Brooklyn, NY, hosted by magician/illusionist, comedian, actor and best-selling author Penn Jillette.
Leading the field of nominations with four–including for Best Documentary and Best Director–was the Ceyda Torun-directed Kedi from Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red and Termite Films. The Turkish documentary introduced audiences to the stray cats of Istanbul.
Also earning multiple nods were director Doug Nichol’s California Typewriter, Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral, Evgeny Afineevsky’s Cries From Syria, Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts and Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time.
A major change from the inaugural year to this year’s competition is the uniting of theatrical releases and TV/streaming releases under the same categories. Whereas in 2016 the Best Documentary contest was separated into theatrical and TV/streaming releases, this time around they have been merged into a single category–the same applies to the Best Director and Best First Documentary categories.
Set to receive a special honor, the Critics’ Choice Impact Award, is lauded documentarian Joe Berlinger (whose spotmaking/branded content roost is RadicalMedia). Berlinger is an Oscar nominee (Best Feature Documentary for Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory) and a two-time Emmy winner–for Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills.
Here’s a rundown of nominees:
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Abacus: Small Enough to Jail – Director: Steve James (PBS/Blue Ice Films, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Films Production)
- Beware the Slenderman – Director: Irene Taylor Brodsky (HBO, Warner Bros. Television Distribution/HBO Documentary Films, Vermilion Films)
- Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds – Directors: Alexis Bloom, Fisher Stevens (HBO/Bloomfish Pictures, HBO Documentary Films, Insurgent Docs, RatPac Documentary Films)
- California Typewriter – Director: Doug Nichol (Gravitas Ventures/American Buffalo Pictures)
- Chasing Coral – Director: Jeff Orlowski (Netflix/Exposure Labs)
- City of Ghosts – Director: Matthew Heineman (Amazon Studios, A&E IndieFilms, IFC Films/Our Time Projects)
- Cries From Syria – Director: Evgeny Afineevsky (HBO/Afineevsky – Tolmor Production, Cinepost Barrandov, Levy Entertainment Group, Studio Malibu)
- Dawson City: Frozen Time – Director: Bill Morrison (Kino Lorber/Hypnotic Pictures, Picture Palace Pictures)
- Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis – Director: Colin Hanks (HBO/Live Nation Productions, Company Name)
- Ex Libris: The New York Public Library – Director: Frederick Wiseman (Zipporah Films)
- Faces Places – Directors: Agnès Varda & JR (Cohen Media Group/Ciné Tamaris, Social Animals, Rouge International, Arte France Cinéma, Arches Films)
- Jane – Director: Brett Morgen (National Geographic Documentary Films/National Geographic Studios, Public Road Productions)
- Kedi – Director: Ceyda Torun (Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red/Termite Films)
- One of Us – Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady (Netflix/Loki Films)
- Spettacolo – Directors: Jeff Malmberg, Chris Shellen (Grasshopper Film/Open Face)
- Strong Island – Director: Yance Ford (Netflix/Yanceville Films, Louverture Films)
BEST DIRECTOR
- Evgeny Afineevsky – Cries from Syria (HBO/Afineevsky –lmor Production, Cinepost Barrandov, Levy Entertainment Group, Studio Malibu)
- Amir Bar-Lev – Long Strange Trip (Amazon/Amazon Studios, Double E Pictures, Sikelia Productions, AOMA Sunshine Films)
- Matthew Heineman – City of Ghosts (Amazon Studios, A&E IndieFilms, IFC Films/Our Time Projects)
- Bill Morrison – Dawson City: Frozen Time (Kino LHypnotic Pictures, Picture Palace Pictures)
- Doug Nichol – California Typewriter (Gravitas Ventures/American Buffalo Pictures)
- Jeff Orlowski – Chasing Coral (Netflix/Exposure Labs)
- Irene Taylor Brodsky – Beware the Slenderman (HBO, Warner Bros. Television Distribution/HBO Documentary Films, Vermilion Films)
- Ceyda Torun – Kedi (Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red/Termite Films)
- Agnès Varda & JR – Faces Places (Cohen Media Group/Ciné Tamaris, Social Animals, Rouge International, Arte France Cinéma, Arches Films)
- Frederick Wiseman – Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (Zipporah Films)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY
- California Typewriter – Director: Doug Nichol (Gravitas Ventures/American Buffalo Pictures)
- Kedi – Director: Ceyda Torun (Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red/Termite Films)
- Nowhere to Hide – Director: Zaradasht Ahmed (East Village Entertainment/Ten Thousand Images)
- Step – Director: Amanda Lipitz (Fox Searchlight/Impact Partners, Stick Figure Productions)
- Strong Island – Director: Yance Ford (Netflix/Yanceville Films, Louverture Films)
- Whose Streets? – Director: Sabaah Folayan, Co-Director: Damon Davis (Magnolia Pictures)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
- 11/8/16 – Directors: Duane Andersen, Don Argott & Sheena M. Joyce, Yung Chang, Garth Donovan, Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker, Vikram Gandhi, Raul Gasteazoro, Jamie Goncalves, Andrew Beck Grace, Alma Har’el, Daniel Junge, Alison Klayman, Ciara Lacy, Martha Shane, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Bassam Tariq (The Orchard/Cinetic Media)
- Abacus: Small Enough to Jail – Director: Steve James (PBS/Blue Ice Films, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Films Production)
- An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power – Directors: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk (Paramount/Actual Films, Participant Media)
- City of Ghosts – Director: Matthew Heineman (Amazon Studios, A&E IndieFilms, IFC Films/Our Time Projects)
- Dolores – Director: Peter Bratt (PBS Distribution/5 Stick Films)
- The Reagan Show – Directors: Sierra Pettengill, Pacho Velez (Gravitas Ventures, CNN Films)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
- AlphaGo – Director: Greg Kohs (Submarine Entertainment/Moxie Pictures, Reel As Dirt)
- Disgraced – Director: Pat Kondelis (Showtime Networks/Bat Bridge Entertainment)
- Icarus – Director: Bryan Fogel (Netflix/Alex Productions, Diamond Docs, Impact Partners)
- Speed Sisters – Director: Amber Fares (First Run Features)
- Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton – Director: Rory Kennedy (Sundance Selects/Moxie Firecracker Films)
- Trophy – Directors: Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz (CNN Films, The Orchard/Candescent Films, Pulse Films, Reel Peak Films)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
- Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of our Lives – Director: Chris Perkel (Apple Music/IM Global, Scott Free Productions)
- Contemporary Color – Directors: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross (Oscilloscope/The Department of Motion Pictures, Public Domain, Todo Mundo)
- Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis – Director: Colin Hanks (HBO/Live Nation Productions, Company Name)
- I Called Him Morgan – Director: Kasper Collin (FilmRise, Submarine Entertainment/Kasper Collin Produktion, Sveriges Television, Film i Väst)
- Long Strange Trip – Director: Amir Bar-Lev (Amazon/Amazon Studios, Double E Pictures, Sikelia Productions, AOMA Sunshine Films)
- Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World – Director: Catherine Bainbridge, Co-Director: Alfonso Maiorana (Kino Lorber/ARTE G.E.I.E, Rezolution Pictures)
MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECT OF A DOCUMENTARY
- The Cats of Istanbul – Kedi (Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red/Termite Films)
- Etty – One of Us (Netflix/Loki Films)
- Al Gore – An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Paramount/Actual Films, Participant Media)
- Laird Hamilton – Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (Sundance Selects/Moxie Firecracker Films)
- Dolores Huerta – Dolores (PBS/5 Stick Films)
- Gigi Lazzarato – This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous (YouTube Red/SelectNext, Cabin Creek Films)
- The Sung Family – Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (PBS/Blue Ice Films, Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Films Production)
MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY
- 78/52 – Director: Alexandre O. Philippe (IFC Midnight/ARTE, Exhibit A Pictures, Milkhaus, Screen Division, Sensorshot Productions)
- Casting JonBenet – Director: Kitty Green (Netflix/Forensic Films, Symbolic Exchange, Meridian Entertainment)
- Dawson City: Frozen Time – Director: Bill Morrison (Kino Lorber/Hypnotic Pictures, Picture Palace Pictures)
- Karl Marx City – Directors: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker (Bond/360/Pepper & Bones)
- Kedi – Director: Ceyda Torun (Oscilloscope Laboratories, YouTube Red/Termite Films)
- Last Men in Aleppo – Director: Firas Fayyad, Co-Director: Steen Johannessen (Grasshopper Film/Aleppo Media Center, Larm Film)
BEST SONG IN A DOCUMENTARY
- An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power – “Truth to Power” – OneRepublic (Paramount/Actual Films, Participant Media)
- Chasing Coral – “Tell Me How Long” – Kristen Bell (Netflix/Exposure Labs)Cries From Syria – “Prayers for This World” – Cher (HBO/Afineevsky–-Tolmor Production, Cinepost Barrandov, Levy Entertainment Group, Studio Malibu)
- Dina – “Best I Can” – Michael Cera featuring Sharon Van Etten (The Orchard/Cinereach, El Peligro, Killer Films)
- Served Like a Girl – “Dancing Through the Wreckage” – Pat Benatar (Entertainment Studios, Freestyle Digital Media)
- Step – “Jump” – Cynthia Erivo (Fox Searchlight/Impact Partners, Stick Figure Productions)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES (TV/STREAMING)
- The Defiant Ones (HBO)
- Five Came Back (Netflix/Amblin Television, IACF Productions, Netflix, Passion Pictures, Rock Paper Scissors Entertainment)
- The Keepers (Netflix/Film 45, Tripod Media)
- The Nineties (CNN/CNN, Playtone, Herzog & Company)
- Planet Earth II (BBC America, AMC, SundanceTV/BBC Natural History Unit, BBC America, ZDF, Tencent, France Télévisions)
- The Vietnam War (PBS/Florentine Films, WETA-TV Washington)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES (TV/STREAMING)
- 30 for 30 (ESPN/ESPN Films)
- American Masters (PBS/WNET New York City)
- Frontline (PBS/WGBH-TV Boston)
- Independent Lens (PBS/Independent Television Service, Inc.)
- POV (PBS/American Documentary, Inc.)
- VICE (HBO/VICE Media)
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More