Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of The Grierson Trust says: “As we celebrate The Grierson Trust’s 50th anniversary year, this stunning collection of nominations shows that the documentary is as vibrant and relevant as ever. The wide-ranging subject matter and overall excellence of these films is the reason documentaries earn their place on both long-standing broadcast channels and the newer platforms. These nominations also represent a perfect mix of established and emerging talent. I look forward to unveiling the winners at our awards ceremony in November”

Five films have the distinction of nominations in two categories. They are:

• Uprising for Best History and Best Series categories
• The Reason I Jump for Best Single – International and Best Cinema categories
• Summer of Soul for Best Music and Best Cinema categories
• jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy for Best Music and Best Series categories
• Navalny for Best Cinema and Best Current Affairs categories

See the nominations

Ten broadcasters are recognised on the final nominations lists. The BBC dominates with 25 entries in the running overall. Netflix has seven, Channel 4 has six and Sky follows with four. National Geographic, ITV, iTunes with Prime Video, and Disney+ all have two whilst Apple+ and Prime Video alone have one each. The remainder is made up of festival and university screenings alongside theatrical releases.

The Best Presenter shortlist is made up of five names, all making their documentary presenter debuts. Ellie Simmonds for Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?; Jamie MacDonald and Jamie O’Leary for Blind Ambition; Joe Lycett for Joe Lycett Vs the Oil Giant; and, Sathnam Sangera for Empire State of Mind.

Emerging documentary talent is recognised in the Best Student Documentary category which feature films from students from London College of Communication, Newcastle University, University of Manchester and University of Greenwich.

In addition to the 16 categories, there will also be two special awards including the Grierson Hero of the Year Award – presented to an individual nominated by their industry peers and judged by the Trustees to have made a positive impact within the industry over the last 12 months. And the Grierson Trustees Award, presented to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the art and craft of the documentary. This individual is chosen at the Trustees’ discretion.

Buy tickets to the ceremony

AJ Odudu photo credit: Nathan Gallagher

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