Nothing much to see here since we don’t even know what the shortlist documentaries will be but you can usually look at the nominees for Best Documentary and see several of the eventual Oscar nominees.
Below are the nominations. Winners will be announced on 11/9/25.
Nominations Tallies
(7) Orwell: 2+2=5
(6) The Perfect Neighbor
(5) 2000 Meters to Andriivka, The Alabama Solution
(4) Apocalypse in the Tropics, Deaf President Now!
(3) Riefenstahl
(2) The American Revolution, The Americas, Cover-Up, Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, Love + War, My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay, Ocean with David Attenborough, Octopus!, Pee-wee as Himself, Seeds, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, The Tale of Silyan, Trains
(1) All the Empty Rooms, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, Architecton, Art for Everybody, Becoming Led Zeppelin, Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, Bono: Stories of Surrender, Checkpoint Zoo, Classroom 4, The Devil Is Busy, Exodus, The Eyes of Ghana, Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015, Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space, Folktales, Full Court Press, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, Grand Theft Hamlet, Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, John Candy: I Like Me, The Last Rhinos: A New Hope, The Librarians, Mistress Dispeller, Mr. Scorsese, My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow, Number One on the Call Sheet, One to One: John & Yoko, Pangolia: Kulu’s Journey, Predators, Sallie’s Ashes, Shanti Rides Shotgun, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott, Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, We Beat the Dream Team, WTO/99, The Yogurt Shop Murders
The Nominations
Best Documentary
2000 Meters to Andriivka
The Alabama Solution
Apocalypse in the Tropics
Cover-Up
Deaf President Now!
Orwell: 2+2=5
Pee-wee as Himself
The Perfect Neighbor
Riefenstahl
The Tale of Silyan
Best Archival Documentary
One to One: John & Yoko
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor
Riefenstahl
Trains
WTO/99
Best Biographical Documentary
John Candy: I Like Me
Love + War
Mr. Scorsese
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay
Pee-wee as Himself
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
Best Historical Documentary
The American Revolution
Cover-Up
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Number One on the Call Sheet
Riefenstahl
Best Music Documentary
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Billy Joel: And So It Goes
Bono: Stories of Surrender
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Best Political Documentary
The Alabama Solution
Apocalypse in the Tropics
Deaf President Now!
The Librarians
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
Orwell: 2+2=5
Best Science/Nature Documentary
The Americas
Checkpoint Zoo
The Last Rhinos: A New Hope
Ocean with David Attenborough
Octopus!
Pangolia: Kulu’s Journey
Best Sports Documentary
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys
Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024
Full Court Press
Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott
We Beat the Dream Team
Best True Crime Documentary
The Alabama Solution
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
The Yogurt Shop Murders
Best Short Documentary
All the Empty Rooms
Classroom 4
The Devil Is Busy
Exodus
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space
Sallie’s Ashes
Shanti Rides Shotgun
Best Director (Documentary)
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Petra Costa – Apocalypse in the Tropics
Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim – Deaf President Now!
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor
Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman – The Alabama Solution
Raoul Peck – Orwell: 2+2=5
Best Score (Documentary)
2000 Meters to Andriivka
The Eyes of Ghana
Love + War
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor
Trains
Best Editing (Documentary)
2000 Meters to Andriivka
The Alabama Solution
Deaf President Now!
Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor
Best Cinematography (Documentary)
Architecton
Folktales
Mistress Dispeller
Ocean with David Attenborough
Seeds
The Tale of Silyan
Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s)
Art for Everybody
Grand Theft Hamlet
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay
Seeds
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Best Narration (Documentary)
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Petra Costa – Apocalypse in the Tropics
Peter Coyote – The American Revolution
Tom Hanks – The Americas
Damian Lewis – Orwell: 2+2=5
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Octopus!
Critics Critics Association Data
Year Founded: 1995
First Documentary Awards: 2016 (10)
