# César Award for Best Documentary Film

The César Award for Best Documentary Film (French: César du meilleur film documentaire) is an award presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma since 1995.

## History

In 1995, director Marcel Ophüls protested that his film, the documentary Vigils of Arms: A History of Wartime Journalism on the Bosnian War, was eligible only in the usual categories as a work of fiction. The César Academy exceptionally created the César for documentaries and documentary films, which did not satisfy Ophüls, on the temporary nature of the award, he resigned from the Academy.
The César for best documentary has been permanent since 2007.
Following a modification of the César rules on November 8, 2016, it is no longer possible for a film to combine the César for best documentary film with that for best film.

## Winners and nominees
### 1990s

| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| 1995 (20th) | Caught in the Acts | Délits flagrants | Raymond Depardon |
| 1995 (20th) | Bosna! | Bosna! | Alain Ferrari and Bernard-Henri Levy |
| 1995 (20th) | Montand | Montand | Jean Labib |
| 1995 (20th) | Tsahal | Tsahal | Claude Lanzmann |
| 1995 (20th) | The Righteous | Tzedek | Marek Halter |
| 1995 (20th) | Veillées d'armes | Veillées d'armes | Marcel Ophuls |
| 1995 (20th) | La Véritable Histoire d'Artaud le Mômo | La Véritable Histoire d'Artaud le Mômo | Gérard Mordillat and Jérôme Prieur |

### 2000s

| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| 2007 (32nd) | Being Jacques Chirac | Dans la peau de Jacques Chirac | Michel Royer and Karl Zero |
| 2007 (32nd) | La Fille du juge | La Fille du juge | William Karel |
| 2007 (32nd) | Ici Najac, à vous la terre | Ici Najac, à vous la terre | Jean-Henri Meunier |
| 2007 (32nd) | Down There | Là-bas | Chantal Akerman |
| 2007 (32nd) | Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait | Zidane, un portrait du XXIème siècle | Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno |
| 2008 (33rd) | Terror's Advocate | L'Avocat de la terreur | Barbet Schroeder |
| 2008 (33rd) | Animals in Love | Les Animaux amoureux | Laurent Charbonnier |
| 2008 (33rd) | Les Lip, l'imagination au pouvoir | Les Lip, l'imagination au pouvoir | Christian Rouaud |
| 2008 (33rd) | Le Premier Cri | Le Premier Cri | Gilles de Maistre |
| 2008 (33rd) | Back to Normandy | Retour en Normandie | Nicolas Philibert |
| 2009 (34th) | The Beaches of Agnès | Les Plages d'Agnès | Agnès Varda |
| 2009 (34th) | Her Name Is Sabine | Elle s'appelle Sabine | Sandrine Bonnaire |
| 2009 (34th) | Hollywood, I'm Sleeping Over Tonight | J'irai dormir à Hollywood | Antoine de Maximy |
| 2009 (34th) | Tabarly | Tabarly | Pierre Marcel |
| 2009 (34th) | Modern Life | La Vie moderne | Raymond Depardon |

### 2010s

| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| 2010 (35th) | Inferno | L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot | Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea |
| 2010 (35th) | La Danse | La Danse, le ballet de l'Opéra de Paris | Frederick Wiseman |
| 2010 (35th) | Himalaya, le chemin du ciel | Himalaya, le chemin du ciel | Marianne Chaud |
| 2010 (35th) | Home | Home | Yann Arthus-Bertrand |
| 2010 (35th) | Ne me libérez pas je m'en charge | Ne me libérez pas je m'en charge | Fabienne Godet |
| 2011 (36th) | Oceans | Océans | Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud |
| 2011 (36th) | Benda Bilili! | Benda Bilili! | Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret |
| 2011 (36th) | Cleveland vs. Wall Street | Cleveland contre Wall Street | Jean-Stéphane Bron |
| 2011 (36th) | Into Our Own Hands | Entre nos mains | Mariana Otero |
| 2011 (36th) | L'Amour fou | Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, l'amour fou | Pierre Thoretton |
| 2012 (37th) | Tous au Larzac | Tous au Larzac | Christian Rouaud |
| 2012 (37th) | Le Bal des menteurs | Le Bal des menteurs | Daniel Leconte |
| 2012 (37th) | Crazy Horse | Crazy Horse | Frederick Wiseman |
| 2012 (37th) | Here We Drown Algerians | Ici on noie les Algériens | Yasmina Adi |
| 2012 (37th) | Michel Petrucciani | Michel Petrucciani | Michael Radford |
| 2013 (38th) | The Invisibles | Les Invisibles | Sébastien Lifshitz |
| 2013 (38th) | Bovines ou la vraie vie des vaches | Bovines ou la vraie vie des vaches | Emmanuel Gras |
| 2013 (38th) | Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell | Duch, le maître des forges de l'Enfer | Rithy Panh |
| 2013 (38th) | Journal de France | Journal de France | Claudine Nougaret and Raymond Depardon |
| 2013 (38th) | The New Watchdogs | Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde | Gilles Balbastre and Yannick Kergoat |
| 2014 (39th) | Sur le chemin de l'école | Sur le chemin de l'école | Pascal Plisson |
| 2014 (39th) | Comment j'ai détesté les maths | Comment j'ai détesté les maths | Olivier Peyon |
| 2014 (39th) | The Last of the Unjust | Le Dernier des injustes | Claude Lanzmann |
| 2014 (39th) | Il était une forêt | Il était une forêt | Luc Jacquet |
| 2014 (39th) | La Maison de la radio | La Maison de la radio | Nicolas Philibert |
| 2015 (40th) | The Salt of the Earth | The Salt of the Earth | Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado |
| 2015 (40th) | Cartoonists - Foot Soldiers of Democracy | Caricaturistes - Fantassins de la démocratie | Stéphanie Valloatto |
| 2015 (40th) | Les Chèvres de ma mère | Sophie Audier |
| 2015 (40th) | School of Babel | La Cour de Babel | Julie Bertuccelli |
| 2015 (40th) | National Gallery | National Gallery | Frederick Wiseman |
| 2016 (41st) | Tomorrow | Demain | Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent |
| 2016 (41st) | The Pearl Button | El botón de nácar | Patricio Guzmán |
| 2016 (41st) | Cavanna, jusqu'à l'ultime seconde, j'écrirai | Cavanna, jusqu'à l'ultime seconde, j'écrirai | Denis Robert and Nina Robert |
| 2016 (41st) | The Missing Picture | L'Image manquante | Rithy Panh |
| 2016 (41st) | Une jeunesse allemande | Une jeunesse allemande | Jean-Gabriel Périot |
| 2017 (42nd) | Merci patron! | Merci patron! | François Ruffin |
| 2017 (42nd) | Latest News From the Cosmos | Dernières nouvelles du Cosmos | Julie Bertucelli |
| 2017 (42nd) | Fire at Sea | Fuocoammare | Gianfranco Rosi |
| 2017 (42nd) | Swagger | Swagger | Olivier Babinet |
| 2017 (42nd) | Journey Through French Cinema | Voyage à travers le cinéma français | Bertrand Tavernier |
| 2018 (43rd) | I Am Not Your Negro | I Am Not Your Negro | Raoul Peck |
| 2018 (43rd) | A viva voz. La fuerza de la palabra | A viva voz. La fuerza de la palabra | Stéphane de Freitas |
| 2018 (43rd) | Plot 35 | Carré 35 | Éric Caravaca |
| 2018 (43rd) | 12 jours [fr] | 12 jours [fr] | Raymond Depardon |
| 2018 (43rd) | Faces Places | Visages villages | Agnès Varda, JR |
| 2019 (44th) | So Help Me God | Ni juge, ni soumise | Jean Libon, Yves Hinant |
| 2019 (44th) | De chaque instant | De chaque instant | Nicolas Philibert |
| 2019 (44th) | The State Against Mandela and the Others | The State Against Mandela and the Others | Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte |
| 2019 (44th) | America | America | Claus Drexel |
| 2019 (44th) | The Grand Ball | Le grand bal | Laetitia Carton |

### 2020s

| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| 2020 (45th) | M | M | Yolande Zauberman |
| 2020 (45th) | 68, Mon Père | 68, Mon Père | Samuel Bigiaoui |
| 2020 (45th) | La Cordillère des Songes | La Cordillère des Songes | Patricio Guzmán |
| 2020 (45th) | Lourdes | Lourdes | Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai |
| 2020 (45th) | Wonder boy Olivier Rousteing, né sous X | Wonder boy Olivier Rousteing, né sous X | Anissa Bonnefont |
| 2021 (46th) | Adolescents | Adolescentes | Sébastien Lifshitz |
| 2021 (46th) | La Cravate | La Cravate | Etienne Chaillou and Mathias Théry |
| 2021 (46th) | Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes | Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes | Rodolphe Marconi |
| 2021 (46th) | Histoire D’Un Regard | Histoire D’Un Regard | Mariana Otero |
| 2021 (46th) | Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage | Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage | David Du Fresne |
| 2022 (47th) | The Velvet Queen | La panthère des neiges | Marie Amiguet [fr] and Vincent Munier |
| 2022 (47th) | Animal | Animal | Cyril Dion |
| 2022 (47th) | Bigger Than Us | Bigger Than Us | Flore Vasseur |
| 2022 (47th) | Gallant Indies | Indes galantes | Philippe Béziat |
| 2022 (47th) | Those Who Care | Debout les femmes! | Gilles Perre and François Ruffin |
| 2023 (48th) | Returning to Reims (Fragments) | Retour à Reims (Fragments) | Jean-Gabriel Périot |
| 2023 (48th) | Heart of Oak | Le Chêne | Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux |
| 2023 (48th) | Jane by Charlotte | Jane par Charlotte | Charlotte Gainsbourg |
| 2023 (48th) | Rookies | Allons Enfants | Thierry Demaizière, Alban Teurlai |
| 2023 (48th) | The Super 8 Years | Les Années Super 8 | David Ernaux-Briot |
| 2024 (49th) | Four Daughters | بنات ألفة | Kaouther Ben Hania |
| 2024 (49th) | Atlantic Bar | Atlantic Bar | Fanny Molins |
| 2024 (49th) | Little Girl Blue | Little Girl Blue | Mona Achache |
| 2024 (49th) | Our Body | Notre Corps | Claire Simon |
| 2024 (49th) | On the Adamant | Sur l'Adamant | Nicolas Philibert |
| 2025 (50th) | The Bertrand's Farm | La Ferme des Bertrand | Gilles Perret |
| 2025 (50th) | The Belle from Gaza | La Belle de Gaza | Yolande Zauberman |
| 2025 (50th) | Bye Bye Tiberias | باي باي طبريا | Lina Soualem |
| 2025 (50th) | Dahomey | Dahomey | Mati Diop |
| 2025 (50th) | Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck |
| 2025 (50th) | Madame Hofmann | Madame Hofmann | Sébastien Lifshitz |