The new categories for this year’s awards reflect one of the fastest growing documentary genres and recognise successful returning series. The Best Crime and Justice Documentary award is open to a single documentary, or an episode from a strand or series, which explores crime, justice, or the legal system. Judges will be looking for evidence of quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence. Introducing this new category, the Grierson Awards will recognise ethical filmmaking standards evidenced by production teams, in particular around ensuring rigorous duty of care practices for contributors, family members and friends of those featured in the documentary, and members of the production team.

The Best Returning Documentary Series award celebrates the strength and importance of returning documentary formats to broadcasters, streamers and producers in today’s competitive television landscape. Entries are open to returning series (in season two or beyond) of three or more episodes and with a single overall theme, planned by an individual or a team. Judges will be looking for evidence of quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence, as well as broad audience appeal.

The 2025 Grierson Awards, presented in association with All3Media, cover 14 programme categories spanning the entire documentary genre alongside the Best Documentary Presenter award and the Grierson Trustees’ Award, sponsored by the BBC.

The closing date for entries is Wednesday 4 June. The 2025 awards ceremony takes place on 18th November at Roundhouse, the iconic music and arts venue in Camden, London.

Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of the Grierson Trust said: “The best documentaries open minds and provide insights to a wide range of audiences. They can document injustice, and the role that people and systems can have in shaping the world around us, as well as showcasing the best of human endeavours in sport and the creative arts. Great documentaries can also entertain and bring us together as families and communities at a time when polarisation is increasing. We are evolving this year’s Grierson Awards and introducing new categories to reflect trends in genres and to recognise commercial and audience success over a longer period. As always, at the heart of the awards is a celebration of the incredible creativity and talent of documentary makers in the UK and around the world.”

The 2024 Grierson Award winners covered a wide range of subjects including two films providing insightful portraits of living with serious mental health conditions, alongside a powerful film documenting the siege of Mariupol in Ukraine. Other winners on the night were an exploration of Muslim faith in modern Britain, a film following a Turkish singer’s brave campaign against femicide, a unique look at a Korean film club and a documentary showing the power of sport to change perceptions of disability.

All entries to the 2025 Grierson Awards must have had their first UK screening between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025. This includes television broadcast, scheduled screenings and screenings within recognised film, television and documentary festivals, and theatrical releases. Entries will be accepted which have screened on digital platforms only – e.g. Netflix, iPlayer, Prime Video – as long as the screening was accessible by a UK-based audience. Digital screenings must be on a credible, recognised platform and not just uploaded to the filmmakers' own YouTube or Vimeo channel. Screenings at Universities and Colleges are also acceptable for the Best Student Documentary category. More information on criteria, eligibility and terms and conditions for entry are available on the Grierson Trust website.

To support freelancers working in the industry, the Grierson Trust is again offering a freelancer rate for entries into the Best Documentary Short category. Films that have been produced independently, without receiving funding from external sources (including grants and foundations), and which are not attached to a distributor, platform or broadcaster will be eligible for this discounted rate.

The Grierson Trust is grateful to all its sponsors who help support the awards including headline sponsors All3Media and category sponsors BBC, Broadcast International, Channel 4, ENVY, Netflix, Sky Documentaries and Televisual, as well as official music partners Audio Network, and supporters the British Council, The Farm and Realscreen.