‘Tiger King,’ ‘For Sama,’ David Olusoga Among 2020 Grierson Nominees
Nominations for the 48th annual British Documentary Awards, known as the Griersons, include episode two of Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts’ Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning “For Sama,” and a best presenter nod for David Olusoga for “The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files.”
The awards are given by The Grierson Trust. Of the 52 nominated films, 21 were broadcast on BBC channels. Netflix has nine nominations and Channel 4 has five. ITV and Al Jazeera have two apiece while YouTube Originals, Channel 5, National Geographic and Discovery have one each.
Lorraine Heggessey, chair of The Grierson Trust, said: “This has been a difficult year for the production community and particularly for freelancers, so it’s more important than ever to recognize and celebrate the excellence of so many talented filmmakers, whether they are newcomers or established global names. These nominations demonstrate the relevance and versatility of documentaries, with their ability to highlight a wide range of contemporary issues and bring new stories to the screens on well-established channels as well as on newer platforms.”
The awards are supported by All3Media and category sponsors include Envy, The Open University, Storm, Channel 5, Sargent-Disc, Discovery, Netflix, Channel 4, BFI Doc Society Fund, The Rumi Foundation, Warner Bros. Television Production and BBC. New supporters include YouTube Originals and Real Stories, while Little Dot Studios is the digital broadcast partner for the event on Nov. 10.
The full list of nominations:
Envy Best Single Documentary – Domestic
“The Family Secret”
Anna Hall, Sally Ogden, Luke Rothery & Brian Woods for Candour Productions
Channel 4
“Suicidal: In Our Own Words”
Rachel Harvie, David DeHaney, Emmanuel Ayettey & Iain Pettifer for Proper Content
Channel 5
“Tell Me Who I Am”
Production team at Lightbox
Netflix
“War in the Blood”
Arthur Cary, Morgan Matthews, Ben Brown & Saskia Rusher for Minnow Films
BBC Two
The Open University Best Single Documentary – International
“Crip Camp”
Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht, Sara Bolder, Howard Gertler, Priya Swaminathan & Tonia Davis for A Higher Ground & Rusted Spoke Production in association with Little Punk, JustFilms & Ford Foundation
Netflix
“The Day California Burned”
Sarah Waldron, Fiona Stourton, Dan Edge, Ella Newton & Jane McMullen for Brook Lapping Productions & BBC Current Affairs London
BBC Two
“The Great Hack”
Production team at A Noujaim Films Production & an othrs Production
Netflix
“Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein”
Ursula Macfarlane, Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn, Poppy Dixon & Andy R Worboys for Lightbox
BBC Two
Real Stories Best Current Affairs Documentary
“Al Jazeera Investigations: Diplomats for Sale”
Production team at Al Jazeera Media Network
Al Jazeera
“Sex for Grades”
Kiki Mordi, Kemi Alabi, Chiara Francavilla, Charlie Northcott, Andy Bell & Marc Perkins for BBC World Service
BBC Africa
“Undercover with the Clerics”
Paddy Wells, Mais Al-Bayaa, Nawal Al Maghafi, Monica Garnsey & Chris Mitchell for BBC News Arabic
BBC News Arabic
“Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag”
Robin Barnwell, Gesbeen Mohammad, Guy Creasey, David Henshaw & Simon Russell for Hardcash Productions
ITV
Storm Best Arts or Music Documentary
“The Black Godfather”
Reginald Hudlin, Nicole Avant, Byron Phillips, Nelson George, Catrin Rodgers & Andrew Fried for Boardwalk Pictures & Hudlin Entertainment
Netflix
“Imagine… Edna O’Brien: Fearful and Fearless”
Katy Homan, Tanya Hudson, Jude Suggett & Alan Yentob for BBC Studios
BBC One
“Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall”
Alfred George Bailey, Adam Biskupski, Ian Arber, Tatiana Kennedy, Arno Hazebroek & Nicolas Sampson for Bailey Kennedy Production
General theatrical release
“Terms and Conditions: A U.K. Drill Story”
Brian Hill, Kandise Abiola, Katie Bailiff, Fraser T Smith & Stuart Briggs for Century Films
YouTube Originals
Channel 5 Best Historical Documentary
“Apollo 11”
Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Petersen, Evan Krauss & Stephen Slater for Statement Pictures
General theatrical release
“Crip Camp”
Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht, Sara Bolder, Howard Gertler, Priya Swaminathan & Tonia Davis for A Higher Ground & Rusted Spoke Production in association with Little Punk, JustFilms & Ford Foundation
Netflix
“A House Through Time – Episode 1”
Eleanor Scoones, Katie Greening, Justin Badger, Mary Crisp & Maxine Watson for Twenty Twenty Productions
BBC Two
“Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain – Episode 1”
Robert Coldstream, Clare Cameron, Justin Badger, Jane Greaves & Edmund Coulthard for Blast! Films
Channel 4
Sargent-Disc Best Science Documentary
“The Big Picture – The World According to AI: The Bias in the Machine”
Sanjiev Johal, Cori Crider, Nicholas Muirhead, Ryan Kohls, Sean Griffin & Denise Lister for Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera
“Einstein’s Quantum Riddle”
Jamie Lochhead, David Dugan, Clementine Cheetham & Alastair Auld for Windfall Films
BBC Four
“Mad Cow Disease: The Great British Beef Scandal”
Will Lorimer, James Gold, Liesel Evans & Pamela McIntyre for RAW
BBC Two
“War in the Blood”
Arthur Cary, Morgan Matthews, Ben Brown, Saskia Rusher & Andrew Phillips for Minnow Films
BBC Two
Discovery Best Natural History Documentary
“The Last Igloo”
Christian Collerton, Will Grayburn, Joe Evans, Neil Crombie, Adam Simons & Mick Duffield for Swan Films
BBC Four
“Seven Worlds, One Planet: Antarctica”
Jonny Keeling, Fredi Devas, Dave Pearce, Abigail Lees, Michael Becker & Scott Alexander for BBC Studios Natural History Unit
BBC One
“The Story of Plastic”
Deia Schlosberg, Kyle Cadotte, Megan Ponder, Stiv Wilson, Tony Hale & Brian Wilson for The Story of Stuff Project in association with React to Film
Discovery
“Tigers: Hunting the Traffickers”
Laura Warner, Jo Prichard, Guy Creasey, Monica Garnsey, Anna Murphy & Orlando Von Einsiedel for Grain Media
BBC Two
YouTube Originals Best Entertaining Documentary
“The Dog House” – Episode 3
Nick Mirsky, Anna Llewellyn, Morgana Pugh, Claire Parry, Katie Brimblecombe & Tom Bowman for Five Mile Films
Channel 4
“Love is Blind”
Production team at Kinetic Content
Netflix
“The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan: Zimbabwe”
Romesh Ranganathan, Emily Hudd, Morgan Roberts, Chris Cottam & Andy Linton for Rumpus Media
BBC Two
“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” – Episode 2
Rebecca Chaiklin, Eric Goode, Chris Smith, Doug Abel, Dylan Hansen-Fliedner & Nicholas Biagetti for Goode Films Production in association with Library Films & Article 19 Films
Netflix
Netflix Best Documentary Series
“The Devil Next Door”
Production team at One Man Show & Submarine Deluxe Production in association with Yes Studios
Netflix
“Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer”
Mark Lewis, Felicity Morris, Dimitri Doganis, Adam Hawkins, Michael Harte & Bjorn Johnson for RAW
Netflix
“Hometown: A Killing”
Jeremy Lee, Wes Thomas & Catey Sexton for Forest & 7 Wonder
BBC Three
“Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain”
Robert Coldstream, Clare Cameron, Justin Badger, Jane Greaves & Edmund Coulthard for Blast! Films
Channel 4
Channel 4 Best Constructed Documentary Series
“Long Lost Family”
Sally Benton, Clare Bradbury, Susie Attwood, Rick Barker & Johnny Wagener for Wall to Wall Media
ITV
“The Rap Game”
Tom O’Brien, Simon Andreae, Tom Whitrow, Lianne Hickey & Susie Dark for Naked
BBC Three
“The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes”
Benjamin Leigh, Trish Powell, Murray Boland, Martin Oxley, Louise Bartmann & Neil Cornish/ Dan Gulley for CPL Productions & Motion Content Group
Channel 4
“Who Are You Calling Fat?”
Sara Ramsden, Charlotte Armstrong, Oliver Manley & Nicholas Packer for Love Productions
BBC Two
BFI Doc Society Fund Best Cinema Documentary
“American Factory”
Production team at Higher Ground Productions & Participant Media for Netflix
General theatrical release
“For Sama”
Waad al Kateab, Ed Watts, Nevine Mabro, Ben de Pear, Siobhan Sinnerton & George Waldrum for Channel 4 News & ITN Productions for Channel 4 & PBS Frontline
General theatrical release
“Honeyland”
Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov & Atanas Georgiev
General theatrical release
“Midnight Family”
Luke Lorentzen & Kellen Quinn
General theatrical release
The Rumi Foundation Best Documentary Short
“Country Girl”
Ellen Evans, Pearl Doughty-White & Lisa Marie-Russo –
Open City Docs Film Festival
“Lost & Found”
Orlando von Einsiedel & Harri Grace for National Geographic Documentary Films Presents in association with The Nobel Prize, a Rideback & Grain Media Production
National Geographic
“That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”
Hannah Currie & Beth Allan for Forest of Black & SDI – Bridging the Gap
Edinburgh International Film Festival
“Witness: The Mortician of Manila”
Leah Borromeo, Laura Shacham, Katharine Round, James Scott, Joshua Reyles & Jamie Perera for Disobedient Films & Al Jazeera Witness
Sheffield Doc/Fest
All3Media Best Student Documentary
“Bananas”
Sara Montoya Sepulveda, Mel Barnes, Rachel Roberts, Ethan Jeffrey, Breen Turner & Marco Valerio Caminiti for NFTS
University/College screening
“Bringing Home the Blubber”
Molly Adams for London College of Communication
University/College screening
“Inside a Marriage”
Ben Cheetham & Margred Pryce for NFTS
University/College screening
“Miss Curvy”
Ghada Eldemellawy & Gareth Pugh for NFTS
University/College screening
Warner Bros Television Production Best Documentary Presenter
David Olusoga for “The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files”
Uplands Television
BBC Two
Emily Maitlis for “Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal: The Newsnight Interview”
BBC Newsnight
BBC Two
Mobeen Azhar for “Hometown: A Killing”
Forest & 7 Wonder
BBC Three
Stacey Dooley for “Stacey Dooley: On the Psych Ward”
True Vision
BBC Three
More from Variety
Carole Baskin to Star in, Produce Animal Exploitation Series for Thinkfactory Media (EXCLUSIVE)
How Carole Baskin's Missing Ex-Husband's Family Crashed Her 'Dancing With the Stars' Debut
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.