Ever since the Broadcast Film Critics Association split their documentary awards off from their main awards ceremony, they’ve been able to recognize far more documentaries than previously. This gives us a broad idea of which documentaries are in contention for the Oscars and a lot of selections that aren’t. Titles like They Shall Not Grow Old and Period. End of Sentence. were Oscar-eligible last year, so this year’s selections won’t be too instructive. That said, Apollo 11 and American Factory are the ones to come out of these awards a bit better for the journey.

Award Tallies

(5) Apollo 11
(2) American Factory, They Shall Not Grow Old

The Awards

Best Documentary Feature

Apollo 11

Best Director

Tie:
Peter Jackson – They Shall Not Grow Old
Steven Bognar, Julie Reichert – American Factory

Best Archival Documentary

Apollo 11

Most Innovative Documentary

They Shall Not Grow Old

Best Sports Documentary

Maiden

Best Political Documentary

American Factory

Best Biographical Documentary

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

Best Science/Nature Documentary

Apollo 11

Best First Documentary Feature

Honeyland

Best Cinematography

The Biggest Little Farm

Best Editing

Apollo 11

Best Short Documentary

Period. End of Sentence.

Best Narration

Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars

Best Music Documentary

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Best Score

Apollo 11

Broadcast Film Critics Association Data

Year Founded: 1995
First Awards: 2016 (4)