# 6th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards

The 6th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards were presented on November 14, 2021 at the BRIC in Brooklyn, New York, honoring the finest achievements in documentary filmmaking and non-fiction television. It was hosted by Roy Wood Jr.
Ascension and Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) led the nominations with six each with the latter winning all of its nominations.

## Winners and nominees

The nominations were announced on October 18, 2021.
Best Documentary Feature
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Ascension
Attica
Becoming Cousteau
The Crime of the Century
A Crime on the Bayou
Flee
Introducing, Selma Blair
The Lost Leonardo
My Name Is Pauli Murray
Procession
The Rescue :
| Best Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – The Rescue Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Liz Garbus – Becoming Cousteau Jessica Kingdon – Ascension Stanley Nelson Jr. and Traci A. Curry – Attica Jonas Poher Rasmussen – Flee Edgar Wright – The Sparks Brothers | Best First Documentary Feature Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Jessica Beshir – Faya Dayi Rachel Fleit – Introducing, Selma Blair Todd Haynes – The Velvet Underground Jessica Kingdon – Ascension Kristine Stolakis – Pray Away Edgar Wright – The Sparks Brothers |
| Best Archival Documentary Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Becoming Cousteau The Real Charlie Chaplin The Real Right Stuff Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Val The Velvet Underground | Best Short Documentary The Queen of Basketball Audible Borat's American Lockdown Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol The Doll The Last Cruise Snowy |
| Best Political Documentary The Crime of the Century Enemies of the State Four Hours at the Capitol Influence Mayor Pete Missing in Brooks County Nasrin Not Going Quietly | Best Sports Documentary The Alpinist Changing the Game The Day Sports Stood Still Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible LFG Tiger |
| Best Historical or Biographical Documentary Val Attica A Crime on the Bayou Fauci Final Account Julia My Name Is Pauli Murray No Ordinary Man | Best Science/Nature Documentary Becoming Cousteau Fauci The First Wave The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 Playing with Sharks Puff: Wonders of the Reef The Year Earth Changed |
| Best Narration Val – Jack Kilmer, narrator; Val Kilmer, writer 9/11: Inside the President's War Room – Jeff Daniels, narrator Becoming Cousteau – Vincent Cassel, narrator; Mark Monroe and Pax Wassermann, writers The Crime of the Century – Alex Gibney, narrator and writer The Neutral Ground – CJ Hunt, narrator and writer The Real Charlie Chaplin – Pearl Mackie, narrator; Oliver Kindeberg, Peter Middleton and James Spinney, writers The Year Earth Changed – David Attenborough, narrator | Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary Ady Barkan – Not Going Quietly Selma Blair – Introducing, Selma Blair Pete Buttigieg – Mayor Pete Anthony Fauci – Fauci Ben Fong-Torres – Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres Val Kilmer – Val Ron and Russell Mael – The Sparks Brothers Rita Moreno – Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It Valerie Taylor – Playing With Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story |
| Best Music Documentary Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James Listening to Kenny G The Sparks Brothers Tina The Velvet Underground | Best Score Daniel Pemberton – The Rescue Jongnic Bontemps – My Name is Pauli Murray Dan Deacon – Ascension Alex Lasarenko and David Little – The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 Cyrus Melchor – LFG Rachel Portman – Julia Dirac Sea – Final Account |
| Best Cinematography David Katznelson, Ian Seabrook and Picha Srisansanee – The Rescue Jessica Beshir – Faya Dayi Jonathan Griffith, Brett Lowell and Austin Siadak – The Alpinist Nelson Hume and Alan Jacobsen – The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell – Ascension Emiliano Villanueva – A Cop Movie Pete West – Puff: Wonders of the Reef | Best Editing Joshua L. Pearson – Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Francisco Bello, Matthew Heineman, Gabriel Rhodes and David Zieff – The First Wave Jeff Consiglio – LFG Bob Eisenhardt – The Rescue Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz – The Velvet Underground Jessica Kingdon – Ascension Julian Quantrill – The Real Charlie Chaplin |

### Pennebaker Award

* R. J. Cutler

## Films with multiple nominations

Films with multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Film |
| 6 | Ascension |
| 6 | Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) |
| 5 | Becoming Cousteau |
| 5 | The Rescue |
| 4 | The Sparks Brothers |
| 4 | Val |
| 4 | The Velvet Underground |
| 3 | Attica |
| 3 | The Crime of the Century |
| 3 | Fauci |
| 3 | Introducing, Selma Blair |
| 3 | LFG |
| 3 | The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 |
| 3 | My Name Is Pauli Murray |
| 3 | The Real Charlie Chaplin |
| 2 | The Alpinist |
| 2 | A Crime on the Bayou |
| 2 | Faya Dayi |
| 2 | Final Account |
| 2 | The First Wave |
| 2 | Flee |
| 2 | Julia |
| 2 | Mayor Pete |
| 2 | Not Going Quietly |
| 2 | Playing With Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story |
| 2 | Puff: Wonders of the Reef |
| 2 | The Year Earth Changed |
Films with multiple wins :
| Wins | Film |
| 6 | Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) |
| 3 | The Rescue |
| 2 | Val |