# GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary

The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary is an annual award that honors documentaries for excellence in the treatment of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals, history, and themes. It is one of several categories of the annual GLAAD Media Awards, which are presented by GLAAD—an American non-governmental media monitoring organization—at ceremonies held primarily in New York City and Los Angeles between March and May.
The award is one of the few to date back to the 1st GLAAD Media Awards in 1990, where it was given to Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt. While no documentary was recognized in 1991 or 1993, the award has been present at every ceremony since the 5th GLAAD Media Awards in 1994. It has been jointly awarded on three occasions, having been given to two documentaries in 1995 and 2014, and three in 1996, when Ballot Measure 9, The Celluloid Closet, and The Question of Equality were all recognized.
For a documentary to be eligible, it must either receive a theatrical release or air on television in more than one local market. Documentaries receiving a theatrical release must be distributed by a recognized film distribution company and play for paid admission for seven consecutive days, while televised ones must air on television within two years of completion. The award is given to the documentary and may be accepted by any of the producers, directors, or individuals featured in the documentary. Documentaries selected by GLAAD are evaluated based on four criteria: "Fair, Accurate, and Inclusive Representations" of the LGBT community, "Boldness and Originality" of the project, significant "Impact" on mainstream culture, and "Overall Quality" of the project. GLAAD monitors mainstream media to identify which documentaries will be nominated, while also issuing a call for entries that encourages media outlets to submit documentaries for consideration. By contrast, in order for documentaries created by and for LGBT audiences to be considered for nomination, they must be submitted after the call for entries. Winners are determined by a plurality vote by GLAAD staff and its board, Shareholders Circle members, volunteers and affiliated individuals.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 39 documentaries. The only television programs to have been nominated twice are MTV's The Real World and True Life, both of which won once. The Real World won for its third season The Real World: San Francisco in 1995, and True Life for the episode "I'm Gay and I'm Getting Married" in 2005. At the 35th GLAAD Media Awards in 2024, the award was given to Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later, Kokomo City, and The Stroll.

## Winners and nominees

Table key :
| ‡ | Indicates the winner |

### 1990s

1990s winners and nominees :
| Award year | Documentary | Distributor / Network | Ref(s). |
| 1990 (1st) | Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt ‡ | Direct Cinema | |
| 1992 (3rd) | Paris Is Burning ‡ | Off-White Productions / Prestige Pictures | |
| 1994 (5th) | Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives ‡ | Women Make Movies | |
| 1995 (6th) | Coming Out Under Fire ‡ | Deep Focus Films | |
| 1995 (6th) | The Real World: San Francisco ‡ | MTV | |
| 1996 (7th) | Ballot Measure 9 ‡ | Sovereign Distribution | |
| 1996 (7th) | The Celluloid Closet ‡ | Sony Pictures Classics | |
| 1996 (7th) | The Question of Equality ‡ | PBS | |
| 1997 (8th) | It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School ‡ | New Day Films | |
| 1998 (9th) | Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End ‡ | Cinemax | [8] [11] [12] |
| 1998 (9th) | Behind the Music: "Boy George" | VH1 | [8] [11] [12] |
| 1998 (9th) | Hide and Seek | PBS | [8] [11] [12] |
| 1998 (9th) | I Shall Not Be Removed: The Life of Marlon Riggs | PBS | [8] [11] [12] |
| 1998 (9th) | Licensed to Kill | | [8] [11] [12] |
| 1999 (10th) | Out of the Past ‡ | PBS | [8] [13] |
| 1999 (10th) | The Brandon Teena Story | Zeitgeist Films | [8] [13] |
| 1999 (10th) | Dear Jesse | Cowboy Pictures | [8] [13] |
| 1999 (10th) | The Real Ellen Story | Bravo | [8] [13] |
| 1999 (10th) | San Francisco Neighborhoods: The Castro | PBS | [8] [13] |

### 2000s

2000s winners and nominees :
| Award year | Documentary | Distributor / Network | Ref(s). |
| 2000 (11th) | Out at Work ‡ | HBO | [8] [14] |
| 2000 (11th) | After Stonewall | First Run Features | [8] [14] |
| 2000 (11th) | E! True Hollywood Story: "Divine" | E! | [8] [14] |
| 2000 (11th) | Golden Threads | PBS | [8] [14] |
| 2000 (11th) | The Man Who Drove with Mandela | | [8] [14] |
| 2001 (12th) | Living with Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100 ‡ | Sundance Channel | [15] [16] |
| 2001 (12th) | Creature | Seventh Art Releasing | [15] [16] |
| 2001 (12th) | Our House | PBS | [15] [16] |
| 2001 (12th) | The Real World: New Orleans | MTV | [15] [16] |
| 2001 (12th) | You Don't Know Dick | Sundance Channel | [15] [16] |
| 2002 (13th) | Scout's Honor ‡ | PBS | [17] [18] |
| 2002 (13th) | 5 Girls | PBS | [17] [18] |
| 2002 (13th) | American High | PBS | [17] [18] |
| 2002 (13th) | Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale | IFC Films | [17] [18] |
| 2002 (13th) | Paragraph 175 | HBO | [17] [18] |
| 2003 (14th) | Trembling Before G-d ‡ | New Yorker Films | [19] [20] |
| 2003 (14th) | Gay Weddings | Bravo | [19] [20] |
| 2003 (14th) | Middle School Confessions | HBO | [19] [20] |
| 2003 (14th) | Southern Comfort | HBO | [19] [20] |
| 2003 (14th) | True Life: "I'm Coming Out" | MTV | [19] [20] |
| 2004 (15th) | Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin ‡ | PBS | [21] [22] |
| 2004 (15th) | A Boy Named Sue | Showtime | [21] [22] |
| 2004 (15th) | Daddy & Papa | PBS | [21] [22] |
| 2004 (15th) | Hope Along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay | PBS | [21] [22] |
| 2004 (15th) | School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas | MTV | [21] [22] |
| 2005 (16th) | True Life: "I'm Gay and I'm Getting Married" ‡ | MTV | [23] [24] |
| 2005 (16th) | No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon | Sundance Channel | [23] [24] |
| 2005 (16th) | The Opposite Sex: Rene's Story | Showtime | [23] [24] |
| 2005 (16th) | Paternal Instinct | Cinemax | [23] [24] |
| 2005 (16th) | Tarnation | Wellspring Media | [23] [24] |
| 2006 (17th) | TransGeneration ‡ | Sundance Channel / Logo | [25] [26] |
| 2006 (17th) | American Experience: Kinsey | PBS | [25] [26] |
| 2006 (17th) | Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She | HBO | [25] [26] |
| 2006 (17th) | Same Sex America | Showtime | [25] [26] |
| 2006 (17th) | We Are Dad | Showtime | [25] [26] |
| 2007 (18th) | All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise ‡ | HBO | [27] [28] |
| 2007 (18th) | Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer | HBO | [27] [28] |
| 2007 (18th) | My Mums Used to be Men | BBC America | [27] [28] |
| 2007 (18th) | One Punk Under God | Sundance Channel | [27] [28] |
| 2007 (18th) | This Film Is Not Yet Rated | IFC Films | [27] [28] |
| 2008 (19th) | For the Bible Tells Me So ‡ | First Run Features | [29] [30] |
| 2008 (19th) | Camp Out | Logo | [29] [30] |
| 2008 (19th) | Cruel and Unusual: Transgender Women in Prison | We TV | [29] [30] |
| 2008 (19th) | Freddie Mercury: Magic Remixed | VH1 / Logo | [29] [30] |
| 2008 (19th) | Small Town Gay Bar | Logo | [29] [30] |
| 2009 (20th) | A Jihad for Love ‡ | First Run Features | [31] [32] |
| 2009 (20th) | Chris & Don. A Love Story | Zeitgeist Films | [31] [32] |
| 2009 (20th) | Freeheld | Cinemax | [31] [32] |
| 2009 (20th) | Saving Marriage | Regent Releasing | [31] [32] |
| 2009 (20th) | Sex Change Hospital | We TV | [31] [32] |

### 2010s

2010s winners and nominees :
| Award year | Documentary | Distributor / Network | Ref(s). |
| 2010 (21st) | Ask Not ‡ | PBS | [33] [34] |
| 2010 (21st) | Be Like Others | HBO | [33] [34] |
| 2010 (21st) | Derek | Sundance Channel | [33] [34] |
| 2010 (21st) | The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls | Diva Productions | [33] [34] |
| 2010 (21st) | U People | Logo | [33] [34] |
| 2011 (22nd) | 8: The Mormon Proposition ‡ | Red Flag Releasing | [35] [36] |
| 2011 (22nd) | Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement | Sundance Channel | [35] [36] |
| 2011 (22nd) | Out. The Glenn Burke Story | Comcast SportsNet Bay Area | [35] [36] |
| 2011 (22nd) | Prodigal Sons | First Run Features | [35] [36] |
| 2011 (22nd) | Unsung: "Sylvester" | TV One | [35] [36] |
| 2012 (23rd) | Becoming Chaz ‡ | Oprah Winfrey Network | [37] [38] |
| 2012 (23rd) | The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell | HBO | [37] [38] |
| 2012 (23rd) | Two Spirits | PBS | [37] [38] |
| 2012 (23rd) | We Were Here | Red Flag Releasing | [37] [38] |
| 2012 (23rd) | The World's Worst Place to be Gay? | Logo | [37] [38] |
| 2013 (24th) | How to Survive a Plague ‡ | Sundance Selects | [39] [40] |
| 2013 (24th) | Codebreaker | TODpix | [39] [40] |
| 2013 (24th) | Hit So Hard | Variance Films | [39] [40] |
| 2013 (24th) | Vito | HBO | [39] [40] |
| 2013 (24th) | Wish Me Away | First Run Features | [39] [40] |
| 2014 (25th) | Bridegroom ‡ | Virgil Films / Oprah Winfrey Network | [41] [42] |
| 2014 (25th) | Call Me Kuchu ‡ | Cinedigm | [41] [42] |
| 2014 (25th) | God Loves Uganda | Variance Films | [41] [42] |
| 2014 (25th) | The New Black | Promised Land Films | [41] [42] |
| 2014 (25th) | Valentine Road | HBO | [41] [42] |
| 2015 (26th) | L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin ‡ | Showtime | [43] [44] |
| 2015 (26th) | The Case Against 8 | HBO | [43] [44] |
| 2015 (26th) | Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word | Logo / MTV | [43] [44] |
| 2015 (26th) | To Russia with Love | Epix | [43] [44] |
| 2015 (26th) | True Trans with Laura Jane Grace | AOL Originals | [43] [44] |
| 2016 (27th) | Kumu Hina ‡ | PBS | [45] [46] |
| 2016 (27th) | Limited Partnership | PBS | [45] [46] |
| 2016 (27th) | Mala Mala | Strand Releasing | [45] [46] |
| 2016 (27th) | Tab Hunter Confidential | The Film Collaborative | [45] [46] |
| 2016 (27th) | Tig | Netflix | [45] [46] |
| 2017 (28th) | Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four ‡ | Investigation Discovery | |
| 2017 (28th) | Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures | HBO | |
| 2017 (28th) | Out of Iraq | Logo | |
| 2017 (28th) | The Same Difference | Centric | |
| 2017 (28th) | The Trans List | HBO | |
| 2018 (29th) | Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric ‡ | National Geographic | [48] [49] |
| 2018 (29th) | Chavela | Music Box Films | [48] [49] |
| 2018 (29th) | Independent Lens: "Real Boy" | PBS | [48] [49] |
| 2018 (29th) | Kiki | Sundance Selects | [48] [49] |
| 2018 (29th) | This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous | YouTube Red | [48] [49] |
| 2019 (30th) | Believer ‡ | HBO | [50] [51] |
| 2019 (30th) | Calling Her Ganda | Breaking Glass Pictures | [50] [51] |
| 2019 (30th) | My House | Viceland | [50] [51] |
| 2019 (30th) | Quiet Heroes | Logo | [50] [51] |
| 2019 (30th) | When the Beat Drops | Logo | [50] [51] |

### 2020s

2020s winners and nominees :
| Award year | Documentary | Distributor / Network | Ref(s). |
| 2020 (31st) | State of Pride ‡ | YouTube | [52] [53] |
| 2020 (31st) | 5B | RYOT | [52] [53] |
| 2020 (31st) | Gay Chorus Deep South | MTV | [52] [53] |
| 2020 (31st) | Leitis in Waiting | PBS | [52] [53] |
| 2020 (31st) | Wig | HBO | [52] [53] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Disclosure ‡ | Netflix | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Circus of Books | Netflix | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Equal | HBO Max | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | For They Know Not What They Do | First Run Features | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Howard | Disney+ | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado | Netflix | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street | Virgil Films / Shudder | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Visible: Out on Television | Apple TV+ | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | We Are the Radical Monarchs | POV / PBS | [54] [55] |
| 2021 (32nd) | Welcome to Chechnya | HBO | [54] [55] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Changing the Game ‡ | Hulu | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Cured | PBS / Independent Lens | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Flee | Neon | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | The Lady and the Dale | HBO | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | The Legend of the Underground | HBO | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | No Ordinary Man | Oscilloscope Laboratories | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Nuclear Family | HBO | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Pier Kids | PBS / POV | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Pray Away | Netflix | [56] [57] |
| 2022 (33rd) | Pride | FX | [56] [57] |
| 2023 (34th) | Framing Agnes ‡ | Kino Lorber | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | HBO | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | The Andy Warhol Diaries | Netflix | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | The Book of Queer | Discovery+ | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Mama's Boy | HBO | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back | Starz | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Mormon No More | Hulu | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Queer for Fear | Shudder | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Sirens | Oscilloscope | [58] [59] |
| 2023 (34th) | Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story | Netflix | [58] [59] |
| 2024 (35th) | Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later | MTV Documentary Films | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Kokomo City | Magnolia Pictures | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | The Stroll | HBO | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate | Netflix | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Every Body | Focus Features | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Little Richard: I Am Everything | Magnolia Pictures | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Orlando, My Political Biography | Janus Films | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Rainbow Rishta | Amazon Prime Video | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed | HBO Documentary Films | [60] [61] |
| 2024 (35th) | POV: "UYRA – The Rising Forest" | PBS | [60] [61] |