BAFTA Award for Best Documentary

This page lists the winners for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award, for each year.

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary
Awarded forIn recognition of the number of high-quality theatrical documentaries released in cinemas
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts
First awarded1948
Currently held by20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
WebsiteBAFTA Website

In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.

History

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, children's film and television, and interactive media. A theatrical documentary award was presented by the Academy between 1948 and 1990. Documentaries have continued to be honoured with British Academy Television Awards since then and have been eligible in all relevant categories at the Film Awards. In 2012, the Academy re-introduced this category in recognition of the number of high-quality theatrical documentaries released in cinemas in the UK each year.[1]

Winners and nominees

  indicates the winner

1940s

YearFilmDirector
1948
(2nd)
Louisiana StoryRobert J. Flaherty
FarrebiqueGeorges Rouquier
Is Everybody Listening?Jackson Beck
Shadow of the RuhrSergei Nolbandov
Those Blasted KidsAstrid Henning-Jensen and Bjarne Henning-Jensen
Three Dawns to SydneyJohn Eldridge
1949
(3rd)
Daybreak in UdiTerry Bishop
Circulation
The Cornish EngineBill Mason and Philip Armitage
Drug AddictRobert Anderson
Island of the Lagoon (Isole Nella Laguna)Luciano Emmer and Enrico Gras
The Liver Fluke in Great BritainJohn Shearman
Report on the Refugee Problem

1950s

YearFilmDirector
1950
(4th)
The UndefeatedPaul Dickson
Inland WaterwaysR.K. Neilson-Baxter
Kon-TikiThor Heyerdahl
Green is the Mountain (La Montagne est Verte)Jean Lehérissey
Seal IslandJames Algar
The VaticanHans M. Nieter
Life Begins Tomorrow (La Vie Commence Demain)Nicole Védrès
1951
(5th)
Beaver ValleyJames Algar
Visit to Picasso (Bezoek aan Picasso)Paul Haesaerts
DavidPaul Dickson
A Family AffairMargaret Thomson
Family PortraitHumphrey Jennings
Oil for the Twentieth CenturyPeter Bradford
Out of TruePhilip Leacock
1952
(6th)
Royal JourneyDavid Bairstow, Gudrun Parker and Roger Blais
Fishermen of Negombo
Highlights of Farnborough 1952Peter De Normanville
Journey into HistoryJohn Taylor
Le Mans 1952Bill Mason
Nature's Half AcreJames Algar
Ocean TerminalJ.B. Holmes
The Open WindowHenri Storck
Opera SchoolGudrun Parker
Rig 20David Villiers and Ronald H. Riley
The Streamlined PigJørgen Roos
1953
(7th)
The Conquest of EverestGeorge Lowe
White Mane (Crin Blanc)Albert Lamorisse
Elizabeth is QueenTerry Ashwood
Pictures of the Middle Ages (Images Medievales)
Kumak, The Sleepy HunterAlma Duncan
Mille MigliaBill Mason
Operation HurricaneRonald Stark
A Queen Is CrownedChristopher Fry
Teeth of the Wind
Life in the Arctic (Vo l'dakh Okeana)Aleksandr Zguridi
Water BirdsBen Sharpsteen
World Without End
1954
(8th)
The Great Adventure (Det Stora Äventyret)Arne Sucksdorff
Back of BeyondJohn Heyer
Lekko!Herman van der Horst
3-2-1-Zero
Thursday's ChildrenGuy Brenton and Lindsay Anderson
1955
(9th)
The Vanishing PrairieJames Algar
GoldColin Low
Miner's WindowJohn Ferno
The Rival WorldBert Haanstra
1956
(10th)
On the BoweryLionel Rogosin
Foothold in AntarcticaDerek Williams
Generator 4F. R. Crawley
The Silent World (Le Monde Du Silence)Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle
Under the Same SkyKurt Weber
1957
(11th)
Journey into SpringRalph Keene
City of GoldColin Low and Wolf Koenig
Every Day Except ChristmasLindsay Anderson
Holiday
The USA in the Thirties
1958
(12th)
Glass (Glas)Bert Haanstra
The ForerunnerJohn Heyer
Jabulani AfrikaJamie Uys
LS LowryJohn Read
Secrets of the ReefMurray Lerner, Lloyd Ritter and Robert M. Young
Wonders of ChicagoHarry Foster
1959
(13th)
The Savage EyeJoseph Strick, Sidney Meyers and Ben Maddow
This is the BBCRichard Cawston
We Are the Lambeth BoysKarel Reisz
White WildernessJames Algar

1960s

YearFilmRecipient(s)
1960
(14th)
Not awarded
1961
(15th)
Volcano (Le Rendezvous du diable)Haroun Tazieff
1962
(16th)
Not awarded
1963
(17th)
1964
(18th)
Nobody Waved Good-byeDon Owen
The Human DutchBert Haanstra
The Life of Billy Walker
Portrait of QueenieMichael Orrom
1965
(19th)
Tokyo OlympiadKon Ichikawa
Brute Force and FinesseMax Morgan-Witts
Deckie LearnerMichael Grigsby
StravinskyRoman Kroitor and Wolf Koenig
1966
(20th)
Goal! The World CupAbidine Dino and Ross Devenish
Buster Keaton Rides AgainJohn Spotton
I'm Going to Ask You to Get Up Out of Your SeatRichard Cawston
MatadorKevin Billington
1967
(21st)
To Die in MadridFrédéric Rossif
FamineJack Gold
The Things I Cannot ChangeTanya Ballantyne
1968
(22nd)
In Need of Special CareJonathan Stedall
Inside North VietnamFelix Greene
Music!Michael Tuchner
A Plague On Your ChildrenAdrian Malone
1969
(23rd)
PrologueRobin Spry

1970s

YearFilmRecipient(s)
1970
(24th)
Sad Song of Yellow SkinMichael Rubbo
1971
(25th)
The Hellstrom ChronicleWalon Green
Death of a LegendBill Mason
1972
(26th)
Not awarded
1973
(27th)
GriersonRoger Blais
1974
(28th)
Cree Hunters of MistassiniBoyce Richardson and Tony Ianzelo
Compañero: Victor Jara of ChileStanley Forman and Martin Smith
Leprosy
1975
(29th)
The Early AmericansAlan Pendry
Seven Green BottlesEric Marquis
1976
(30th)
Los CanadiensesAlbert Kish
White RockTony Maylam
1977
(31st)
Not awarded
1978
(32nd)
The Silent WitnessDavid Rolfe
1979
(33rd)
The Tree of Wooden ClogsErmanno Olmi

1980s

YearFilmRecipient(s)
1980
(34th)
Not awarded
1981
(35th)
Soldier GirlsNick Broomfield and Joan Churchill
Best BoyIra Wohl
The Life and Times of Rosie the RiveterConnie Field
Return JourneyIan Potts
1982
(36th)
Burden of DreamsLes Blank
The Atomic CaféKevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty
Not a Love StoryBonnie Sherr Klein
The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!Jim Brown
1983
(37th)
SchindlerJon Blair
Forty Minutes: Female CircumcisionLouise Panton
The Visit: Part 3 - The Boy DavidAlex McCall
Wildlife on One: Night LifeDilys Breese
1984
(38th)
28 UpMichael Apted
GI BridesLavinia Warner
South Bank Show: Alan BennettDavid Hinton
Afghanistan Reports: Allah Against The GunshipsSandy Gall
1985
(39th)
Omnibus: Leonard Berstein's West Side StoryChristopher Swann
Marilyn Monroe: Say Goodbye to the PresidentChristopher Olgiati
David Lean: A Life in FilmNigel Wattis
The Frozen Ocean: Part 1 - Kingdom of the Ice BearMike Salisbury and Hugh Miles
1986
(40th)
ShoahClaude Lanzmann
Viewpoint '86: Afghanistan: The Agony of a NationSandy Gall
Omnibus: The MissionRobin Lough
Forty Minutes: The Fishing PartyPaul Watson
Equinox: Prisoner of ConsciousnessJohn Dollar
British Cinema: Personal View - A Turnip Head's Guide to the British CinemaAlan Parker
1987
(41st)
Baka - People of The Rain ForestPhil Agland
Man-Eating Tigers/Saving the TigerNaresh Bedi
Fourteen Days in MayPaul Hamann
Forty Minutes: Home from the HillMolly Dineen
1988
(42nd)
This Week: Death on the RockChris Oxley
The Duty Men: East EndersPaul Hamann
In from the Cold: A Portrait of Richard BurtonTony Palmer
Viewpoint Special: The Men Who Killed KennedyNigel Turner
1989
(43rd)
First Tuesday: Four Hours in My LaiKevin Sim
Viewpoint '89: Cambodia - Year 10: A Special Report by John PilgerDavid Munro
Lost Children of the EmpireJoanna Mack and Mike Fox
Everyman: Romania - State of FearJohn Blake

2010s

YearFilmRecipient(s)
2011
(65th)
[2]
SennaTim Bevan, Eric Fellner, James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey
George Harrison: Living in the Material WorldOlivia Harrison, Martin Scorsese and Nigel Sinclair
Project NimSimon Chinn and James Marsh
Searching for Sugar ManMalik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn
The ImposterBart Layton and Dimitri Doganis
McCullinDavid Morris and Jacqui Morris
MarleyKevin Macdonald, Steve Bing and Charles Steel
West of MemphisAmy J. Berg
2013
(67th)
[5]
The Act of KillingJoshua Oppenheimer
The Armstrong LieAlex Gibney
BlackfishGabriela Cowperthwaite
Tim's VermeerTeller, Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaksAlex Gibney
2014
(68th)
[6]
CitizenfourLaura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
20 Feet from StardomMorgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers and Gil Friesen
20,000 Days on EarthIain Forsyth and Jane Pollard
Finding Vivian MaierJohn Maloof and Charlie Siskel
VirungaOrlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
AmyJames Gay-Rees and Asif Kapadia
Cartel LandMatthew Heineman and Tom Yellin
He Named Me MalalaDavis Guggenheim, Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes
Listen to Me MarlonJohn Battsek, George Chignell, R. J. Cutler and Stevan Riley
SherpaBridget Ikin, Jennifer Peedom and John Smithson
13thAva DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Howard Barish
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring YearsRon Howard, Brian Grazer, Scott Pascucci and Nigel Sinclair
The Eagle HuntressOtto Bell and Stacey Reiss
Notes on BlindnessPeter Middleton and James Spinney
WeinerJosh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
2017
(71st)
[11]
I Am Not Your NegroRaoul Peck
City of GhostsMatthew Heineman
IcarusBryan Fogel and Dan Cogan
An Inconvenient SequelBonni Cohen and Jon Shenk
JaneBrett Morgen and Bryan Burk
Free SoloElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Shannon Dill and Evan Hayes
McQueenIan Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui
RBGJulie Cohen and Betsy West
They Shall Not Grow OldPeter Jackson and Clare Olssen
Three Identical StrangersTim Wardle, Grace Hughes-Hallett and Becky Read
For SamaWaad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
American FactorySteven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Apollo 11Todd Douglas Miller
Diego MaradonaAsif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin
The Great HackKarim Amer and Jehane Noujaim

2020s

YearFilmRecipient(s)
My Octopus TeacherPippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster
David Attenborough: A Life on Our PlanetAlastair Fothergill, Jonnie Hughes and Keith Scholey
CollectiveAlexander Nanau
The DissidentBryan Fogel, Thor Halvorssen, Mark Monroe and Jake Swantko
The Social DilemmaJeff Orlowski and Larissa Rhodes
2021
(75th)
[18]
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent and Joseph Patel
Becoming CousteauLiz Garbus and Dan Cogan
CowAndrea Arnold and Kat Mansoor
FleeJonas Poher Rasmussen and Monica Hellström
The RescueElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek and P. J. van Sandwijk
NavalnyDaniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller and Odessa Rae
All That BreathesShaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer and Aman Mann
All the Beauty and the BloodshedLaura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov and John Lyons
Fire of LoveSara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
Moonage DaydreamBrett Morgen
2023
(77th)
[21]
20 Days in MariupolMstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson-Rath
American SymphonyMatthew Heineman, Lauren Domino and Joedan Okun
Beyond UtopiaMadeleine Gavin, Rachel Cohen and Jana Edelbaum
Still: A Michael J. Fox MovieDavis Guggenheim, Jonathan King and Annetta Marion
Wham!Chris Smith

See also

References

External links