The Satellite Award for Best Documentary Film is an annual award given by the International Press Academy.
Winners and nominees
1990s
2000s
| Year
 | 
Film
 | 
Director(s)
 | 
2000 [4] | 
Reckless Indifference | 
William Gazecki
 | 
| Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies | 
Hugh Munro Neely
 | 
| Dark Days | 
Marc Singer
 | 
| The Eyes of Tammy Faye | 
Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
 | 
| Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport | 
Mark Jonathan Harris
 | 
| One Day in September | 
Kevin Macdonald
 | 
2001 [5][6] | 
In Cane for Life (A Vida em Cana) | 
Jorge W. Atalla
 | 
| Calle 54 | 
Fernando Trueba
 | 
| My Voyage to Italy (Il mio viaggio in Italia) | 
Martin Scorsese
 | 
| Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures | 
Jan Harlan
 | 
2002 [7] | 
The Kid Stays in the Picture | 
Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgen
 | 
| Biggie and Tupac | 
Nick Broomfield
 | 
| Bowling for Columbine | 
Michael Moore
 | 
| The Cockettes | 
Bill Weber, David Weissman
 | 
| Dogtown and Z-Boys | 
Stacy Peralta
 | 
2003 [8] | 
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony | 
Lee Hirsch
 | 
| Capturing the Friedmans | 
Andrew Jarecki
 | 
| The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara | 
Errol Morris
 | 
| Lost in La Mancha | 
Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
 | 
| My Flesh and Blood | 
Jonathan Karsh
 | 
| Stevie | 
Steve James
 | 
2004 [9] | 
Super Size Me | 
Morgan Spurlock
 | 
| Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids | 
Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman
 | 
| The Fuente Family: An American Dream | 
James Orr
 | 
| Lightning in a Bottle | 
Antoine Fuqua
 | 
| Touching the Void | 
Kevin Macdonald
 | 
| Tupac: Resurrection | 
Lauren Lazin
 | 
2005 [10] | 
Mad Hot Ballroom | 
Marilyn Agrelo
 | 
| Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room | 
Alex Gibney
 | 
| Favela Rising | 
Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist
 | 
| March of the Penguins (La marche de l'empereur) | 
Luc Jacquet
 | 
| Murderball | 
Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
 | 
| New York Doll | 
Greg Whiteley
 | 
2006 [11][12] | 
Deliver Us from Evil | 
Amy Berg
 | 
| An Inconvenient Truth | 
David Guggenheim
 | 
| Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple | 
Stanley Nelson
 | 
| Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man | 
Lian Lunson
 | 
| The U.S. vs. John Lennon | 
David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
 | 
| The War Tapes | 
Deborah Scranton
 | 
2007 [13][14] | 
Sicko | 
Michael Moore
 | 
| The 11th Hour | 
Nadia Conners, Leila Conners
 | 
| Darfur Now | 
Ted Braun
 | 
| The King of Kong | 
Seth Gordon
 | 
| Lake of Fire | 
Tony Kaye
 | 
| No End in Sight | 
Charles Ferguson
 | 
2008 [15] | 
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer | 
Robbie Cavolina, Ian McCrudden
 | 
| Man on Wire | 
James Marsh
 | 
| Encounters at the End of the World | 
Werner Herzog
 | 
| Pray the Devil Back to Hell | 
Gini Reticker
 | 
| Religulous | 
Larry Charles
 | 
| Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir) | 
Ari Folman
 | 
2009 [16][17] | 
Every Little Step | 
James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
 | 
| The Beaches of Agnès | 
Agnès Varda
 | 
| The Cove | 
Louie Psihoyos
 | 
| It Might Get Loud | 
Davis Guggenheim
 | 
| The September Issue | 
R.J. Cutler
 | 
| Valentino: The Last Emperor | 
Matt Tyrnauer
 | 
2010s
| Year
 | 
Film
 | 
Director(s)
 | 
2010 [18] | 
Restrepo | 
Sebastian Junger, Tim Hetherington
 | 
| Behind the Burly Q | 
Leslie Zemeckis
 | 
| Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer | 
Alex Gibney
 | 
| Countdown to Zero | 
Lucy Walker
 | 
| A Film Unfinished | 
Yael Hersonski
 | 
| Inside Job | 
Charles Ferguson
 | 
| Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work | 
Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg
 | 
| Sequestro | 
Jorge Wolney Atalla Junior
 | 
| The Tillman Story | 
Amir Bar-Lev
 | 
| Waiting for "Superman" | 
Davis Guggenheim
 | 
2011 [19][20] | 
Senna | 
Asif Kapadia
 | 
| American: The Bill Hicks Story | 
Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas
 | 
| Cave of Forgotten Dreams | 
Werner Herzog
 | 
| The Interrupters | 
Steve James
 | 
| My Perestroika | 
Robin Hessman
 | 
| One Lucky Elephant | 
Lisa Leeman
 | 
| Pina | 
Wim Wenders
 | 
| Project Nim | 
James Marsh
 | 
| Tabloid | 
Errol Morris
 | 
| Under Fire: Journalists in Combat | 
Martyn Burke
 | 
2012 [21][22] | 
Chasing Ice | 
Jeff Orlowski
 | 
| Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry | 
Alison Klayman
 | 
| The Central Park Five | 
Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
 | 
| The Gatekeepers | 
Dror Moreh
 | 
| Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present | 
Matthew Akers
 | 
| The Pruitt-Igoe Myth | 
Chad Freidrichs
 | 
| Searching for Sugar Man | 
Malik Bendjelloul
 | 
| West of Memphis | 
Amy J. Berg
 | 
2013 [23][24] | 
Blackfish | 
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
 | 
| 20 Feet from Stardom | 
Morgan Neville
 | 
| The Act of Killing | 
Joshua Oppenheimer
 | 
| After Tiller | 
Martha Shane, Lana Wilson
 | 
| American Promise | 
Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
 | 
| Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie | 
Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger
 | 
| Sound City | 
Dave Grohl
 | 
| The Square | 
Jehane Noujaim
 | 
| Stories We Tell | 
Sarah Polley
 | 
| Tim's Vermeer | 
Teller
 | 
2014 [25][26] | 
Citizenfour | 
Laura Poitras
 | 
| Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq | 
Nancy Buirski
 | 
| Art and Craft | 
Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman
 | 
| Finding Vivian Maier | 
John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
 | 
| Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me | 
James Keach
 | 
| Jodorowsky's Dune | 
Frank Pavich
 | 
| Keep on Keepin' On | 
Alan Hicks
 | 
| Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles | 
Chuck Workman
 | 
| Red Army | 
Gabe Polsky
 | 
| Virunga | 
Orlando von Einsiedel
 | 
2015 [27] | 
Amy | 
Asif Kapadia
 | 
| The Look of Silence | 
Joshua Oppenheimer
 | 
| Becoming Bulletproof | 
Michael Barnett
 | 
| Best of Enemies | 
Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville
 | 
| Cartel Land | 
Matthew Heineman
 | 
| Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | 
Alex Gibney
 | 
| He Named Me Malala | 
Davis Guggenheim
 | 
| The Hunting Ground | 
Kirby Dick
 | 
| National Lampoon: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead | 
Douglas Tirola
 | 
| Where to Invade Next | 
Michael Moore
 | 
2016 [28] | 
13th | 
Ava DuVernay
 | 
| The Beatles: Eight Days a Week | 
Ron Howard
 | 
| The Eagle Huntress | 
Otto Bell
 | 
| Fire at Sea | 
Gianfranco Rosi
 | 
| Gleason | 
Clay Tweel
 | 
| The Ivory Game | 
Richard Ladkani, Kief Davidson
 | 
| Life, Animated | 
Roger Ross Williams
 | 
| O.J.: Made in America | 
Ezra Edelman
 | 
| Tower | 
Keith Maitland
 | 
| Zero Days | 
Alex Gibney
 | 
2017 [29][30] | 
Chasing Coral | 
Jeff Orlowski
 | 
| City of Ghosts | 
Matthew Heineman
 | 
| Cries from Syria | 
Evgeny Afineevsky
 | 
| Ex Libris: The New York Public Library | 
Frederick Wiseman
 | 
| Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS | 
Sebastian Junger, Nick Quested
 | 
| Human Flow | 
Ai Weiwei
 | 
| Icarus | 
Bryan Fogel
 | 
| Kedi | 
Ceyda Torun
 | 
| Legion of Brothers | 
Greg Barker
 | 
2018 [31] | 
Minding the Gap | 
Bing Liu
 | 
| Crime + Punishment | 
Stephen Maing
 | 
| Free Solo | 
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
 | 
| RBG | 
Betsy West, Julie Cohen
 | 
| Three Identical Strangers | 
Tim Wardle
 | 
| Won't You Be My Neighbor? | 
Morgan Neville
 | 
2019 [32] | 
63 Up | 
Michael Apted
 | 
| The Apollo | 
Roger Ross Williams
 | 
| Apollo 11 | 
Todd Douglas Miller
 | 
| The Cave | 
Feras Fayyad
 | 
| Citizen K | 
Alex Gibney
 | 
| For Sama | 
Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
 | 
| Honeyland | 
Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov
 | 
| One Child Nation | 
Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang
 | 
2020s
| Year
 | 
Film
 | 
Director(s)
 | 
2020 [33][34] | 
Collective | 
Alexander Nanau
 | 
| Acasă, My Home | 
Radu Ciorniciuc
 | 
| Circus of Books | 
Rachel Mason
 | 
| Coup 53 | 
Rachel Mason
 | 
| Crip Camp | 
Nicole Newnham, James Lebrecht
 | 
| The Dissident | 
Bryan Fogel
 | 
| Gunda | 
Viktor Kossakovsky
 | 
| MLK/FBI | 
Sam Pollard
 | 
| A Most Beautiful Thing | 
Mary Mazzio
 | 
| The Truffle Hunters | 
Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
 | 
2021 [35] | 
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) | 
Amir "Questlove" Thompson
 | 
| Ascension | 
Jessica Kingdon
 | 
| Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road | 
Brent Wilson
 | 
| Flee | 
Jonas Poher Rasmussen
 | 
| Introducing, Selma Blair | 
 Rachel Fleit
 
 | 
| Julia | 
Julie Cohen and Betsy West
 | 
| Procession | 
Robert Greene
 | 
| The Rescue | 
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
 | 
| Val | 
Leo Scott and Ting Poo
 | 
| The Velvet Underground | 
Todd Haynes
 | 
2022 [36] | 
Fire of Love | 
Sara Dosa
 | 
| All That Breathes | 
Shaunak Sen
 | 
| All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | 
Laura Poitras
 | 
| Descendant | 
Margaret Brown
 | 
| Good Night Oppy | 
Ryan White
 | 
| Moonage Daydream | 
Brett Morgen
 | 
| The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile | 
Kathlyn Horan
 | 
| The Territory | 
Alex Pritz
 | 
| Young Plato | 
Declan McGrath, Neasa Ní Chianáin
 | 
2023 [37][38] | 
Bad Press | 
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler
 | 
| 20 Days in Mariupol | 
Mstyslav Chernov
 | 
| American Symphony | 
Matthew Heineman
 | 
| Close to Vermeer | 
Suzanne Raes
 | 
| Lakota Nation vs. United States | 
Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli
 | 
| Little Richard: I Am Everything | 
Lisa Cortés
 | 
| Love to Love You, Donna Summer | 
Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano
 | 
| Stamped from the Beginning | 
Roger Ross Williams
 | 
2024 [39] | 
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story | 
Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
 | 
| The Bloody Hundredth | 
Laurent Bouzereau and Mark Herzog
 | 
| Dahomey | 
Mati Diop
 | 
| Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes | 
Nanette Burstein
 | 
| I Am: Celine Dion | 
Irene Taylor
 | 
| No Other Land | 
Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor
 | 
| Porcelain War | 
Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
 | 
| Sugarcane | 
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
 | 
Multiple wins
See also
References
- ^ "Satellite Awards 1998". IMDb. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "1999 3rd Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Feiwell, Jill (January 16, 2000). "'Hollow' nabs quartet of Golden Satellites". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2001 5th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Berkshire, Geoff (December 17, 2001). "'Moulin Rouge' in orbit, topping Satellite noms". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2002 6th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2003 7th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2004 8th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2005-A 9th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards - January 2005". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2005-B 10th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards - December 2005". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 1, 2006). "Satellite Awards nominate seven dramas". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (December 18, 2006). "'Departed,' 'Dreamgirls' win at Satellite Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2007 12th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Maxwell, Erin (December 17, 2007). "Satellite Award winners announced". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2008 13th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (November 30, 2009). "'Nine,' 'Red Cliff' Lead Satellite Nominations". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 21, 2009). "'Hurt Locker,' 'Nine' top Satellite Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (February 16, 2015). "Satellite Awards: Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards 2011". International Press Academy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (December 18, 2011). "'The Descendants' Takes Top Prize from Satellite Awards". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 3, 2012). "Satellite Awards Nominates 10 Films for Best Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 16, 2012). "'Silver Linings Playbook' Wins Five Satellite Awards, Including Best Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (December 2, 2013). "'12 Years a Slave' Tops Satellite Award Nominations". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (February 23, 2014). "Satellite Awards: '12 Years a Slave' Wins Best Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (December 1, 2014). "'Birdman' Leads Satellite Awards Nominations". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Pond, Steve (February 16, 2015). "Satellite Awards: Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards (2015)". International Press Academy. IPA. December 2, 2015. pressacademy.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards 2016". International Press Academy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "'Dunkirk,' 'The Shape of Water' Lead Satellite Award Nominations". TheWrap. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards 2017". International Press Academy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards 2018". International Press Academy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "Satellite Awards 2019". International Press Academy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "'One Night in Miami' and 'Nomadland' Lead Nominations for 25th Satellite Awards". Vimooz. February 1, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ Anderson, Erik (February 15, 2021). "Satellite Awards winners: 'Nomadland,' 'Forty-Year Old Version' top film prizes; 'Schitt's Creek,' 'Better Call Saul' take TV". Awards Watch. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
 
- ^ "2021 Nominees". International Press Academy. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
 
- ^ "The International Press Academy Announces Winners for the 27th Annual Satellite™ Awards". International Press Academy. March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
 
- ^ "IPA Reveals Nominations for the 28th Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. December 18, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
 
- ^ "The International Press Academy Announces Winners for the 28th Annual SATELLITE Awards". International Press Academy. March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
 
- ^ "IPA Reveals Winners for the 29th Satellite Awards". Satellite Awards. January 26, 2025. Archived from the original on February 16, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
 
 
External links
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Current Awards   (Film) |  | 
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Current Awards   (Television) |  | 
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Retired Awards   (Film) |  | 
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Retired Awards   (Television) |  | 
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Retired Awards   (New Media) |  | 
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| Honorary Awards |  | 
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| Ceremonies |  | 
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