Entries are now open for the 50th anniversary Grierson Awards. Considered the Oscars of the documentary world, the 2022 gongs will celebrate excellence across 16 documentary and factual TV genres. The most coveted prizes for documentary filmmakers, the awards evening will recognise factual films and programmes of global significance. Entries must be made before the May 20th closing date.

Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of The Grierson Trust said: “As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Griersons, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how far the documentary genre has come and the significance that factual filmmaking continues to have in shaping our perspectives on the world around us. Documentaries are more relevant than ever in reflecting, investigating and showing the human face of the momentous and disruptive events taking place at home and abroad.“

Categories

This year, the Best Cinema Documentary category is back and the two new categories, Best Music and Best Sports Documentary also make a return for the second year.

See the full list of categories

During the evening two special awards will also be presented: the BBC Grierson Trustees Award and The Talent Manager Grierson Hero of the Year Award. Introduced last year, the Hero of the Year prize will be presented to an individual judged by Grierson Trustees to have made a positive impact within the industry during the previous 12 months. This person may be working in any behind-the-scenes role and be at any level of their career. The category is free to enter and relies on nominations from others in the industry.

The Trust will be holding a webinar to discuss the significance of this award with inaugural winner, Production Manager, Serena Kennedy. Taking place at 7pm on Thursday, 7th April, you can register with The Talent Manager to attend now.

Diversity, Inclusion and Eligibility 

Entrants across all film categories – excluding Best Student Documentary – will again be asked to identify steps that were taken to ensure diversity and inclusion in the making of their film or series. Juries will take into consideration the efforts that have been made to include under-represented groups both on and off screen; as well as any themes and narratives that address diversity and inclusion.

Lorraine Heggessey continued: "By asking entrants to identify these specific elements of their production, we continue to emphasise that diversity and inclusion are intrinsic to the overall excellence of any production.”

For the 2022 awards, all entries must have had their first UK screening between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022. This includes scheduled screenings within recognised film, television and documentary festivals. Entries are accepted for both analogue and digital platforms – such as Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon Prime – as long as the screening was accessible by a UK-based audience.

The Grierson Trust is grateful to all its sponsors who help support the awards including headline sponsors All3Media and category sponsors BBC, BFI Doc Society Fund, Channel 4, Discovery, Disney+, Envy, Molinare, Netflix, Prime Video, Sky Documentaries, The Open University, as well as supporters British Council, Little Dot Studios, The Talent Manager, Televisual and The Kit Room. The awards event will take place in November at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Find out more and enter by Friday, 20 May 2022