Frontline, the Oscar-winning documentary on the Ukraine-Russia war by PBS and The AP, took home awards in two categories at The Grierson Trust’s 2024 British Documentary Awards on Wednesday night.
In association with All3Media, the event took place at London’s Roundhouse Arts and Music venue, where Channel 4 took home the most awards with five, followed by the BBC with three and Netflix with two.
Mstyslav Chernov’s, which won the Academy Award for best documentary earlier this year, won best current affairs documentary and best cinema documentary on Wednesday. Channel 4, produced by Hungry Bear Media, won the Best Single Documentary – Domestic award, with Joe Tracini winning Best Documentary Presenter.
This year’s award winners cover a wide range of topics, with powerful documentaries on the war in Ukraine, the personal journey of a Turkish singer recovering from tragedy as she campaigns against femicide, and the U.S. A recent review of the history of racism.
Other winning films dealt with the reality of living with a serious mental health condition, an exploration of the Muslim faith in modern Britain, a different take on the power of sport, and a unique look at a Korean film club.
In addition to the program awards, this year’s Grierson Trustees Award was presented to British journalist Stacey Dooley, best known for her social documentaries for BBC Three about child labor and women in developing countries.
“This year’s Grierson Awards showcase the creativity and ambition of the best documentary filmmakers and bring the diversity of our industry to the screen,” said Lorraine Hegesi, chair of the Grierson Trust. “The winning films tell compelling stories on a wide range of domestic and international topics. Documentary filmmakers around the world are under pressure not only from budgets, but also from the increasingly polarized climate in which they operate. These awards The Trust salutes their commitment and bravery, as well as thanking the commissioners and funders for their continued support for the genre.”
See the full list of winners below.
Best Single Documentary – Domestic
Hungry Bear Media Ltd for Channel 4
Joe Trasini, Tom Green, Tommy Forbes, Dan Baldwin, Gary Crystal, Georgie Bayford
Best Single Documentary – International
October Films, Red Z Films, Horval Films for Channel 4
Nick Reid, Ice Toprak, Adam Bullmore, Mahmoud Kaya, Miriam Yaves, Anna Price
Best Current Affairs Documentary
FRONTLINE, PBS and The Associated Press for theatrical release
Mstislav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Renee Aronson-Rath, Daryl McCrudden, Vasilisa Stepanenko
Best Arts Documentary
Broccoli Pictures Co. Ltd for Netflix
Kim Hyung-ok, Lee Hyuk-roy
Best Music Documentary
Keep On Running Pictures, Fulwell 73, MRC for Paramount+
Luke Corriem, Bradley Jackson, Jon Michael Simpson, Hanif Abdul Raqib, Kim Marlowe, Patrick Barry
Best Sports Documentary
Meadowlark, Firelight, fever for theatrical release
Louis Miles, Ahmed Tavej, Smriti Keshari, John Skipper, David Kempshall, Karen Alvi
Best documentary ever
a Netflix documentary, a story-up production for Netflix
Roger Ross Williams, David Teague, Alyssa Payne, John Fisher, Francesca Sharper, Dr. Abram X Candy
Best Science Documentary
entertainment for the BBC
Niamh Kennedy, Colin Barr, Arthur Carey, Rick Barker, Emma Lysaght, Jess Austin
Best natural history or environmental documentary
An off-the-fence production for the BBC in co-production with France Television in association with Feature Films for the BBC.
Miles Bladen Royle, Andrew Zeking, Guy Gilbert, Sam Dewey, Tan Wayne Hughes, Amy Freeman
Best Popular Culture Documentary
Acme TV for the BBC
Zaheer ‘Big Zoe’ Hasan, Kiz Hoek, Ross Cameron, Adnan Ahmed, Jamie D’Cruz
Best documentary series
Kander Productions for Channel 4
Anna Hall, Luke Rothery, Josephine Besbrod, Tom Whittaker, Kate Reed
Best Cinematic Documentary
FRONTLINE, PBS and The Associated Press for theatrical release
Mstislav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Renee Aronson-Rath, Daryl McCrudden, Vasilisa Stepanenko
Best Student Documentary
National Film and Television School – University/College Screening
Joe Snelling, Ben Sales, Omar Gabriel Delneuve, Nir Perlman, Carl Mason, George Philip Blake
Best Documentary Short
Happenstance Films for Channel 4
Julia Alcamo, Dean Hudson, Mary Pattison, Sarah Keeling, Morgan K. Spencer, Peter Edwards
Best Documentary Presenter
Joe Tracini for , Hungry Bear Media Ltd for Channel 4
Grierson Trustees Award
Stacey Dooley, journalist, TV presenter
Credit : www.hollywoodreporter.com
