Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)

This is a list of movies by year that they received an Oscar.  Also listed are the other nominations for best documentary short subject.

List of winners and nominees

1940s
1941 - Churchill's Island - National Film Board of Canada
Adventure in the Bronx
Bomber
Christmas Under Fire
A Letter from Home
Life of a Thoroughbred
Norway in Revolt
Soldiers of the Sky
Warclouds in the Pacific
1942 - At the 15th Academy Awards, 25 movies were nominated and four special awards presented in the Documentary category.  This was in recognition of the Allied war in effort in World War II: 
The Battle of Midway -- United States Navy
Kokoda Front Line! -- Australian News & Information Bureau
Moscow Strikes Back -- Artkino
Prelude to War -- United States Army Special Services
Africa, Prelude to Victory -- The March of Time
Combat Report -- United States Army Signal Corps
Conquer by the Clock -- Frederic Ullman, Jr., Producer
The Grain That Built a Hemisphere -- Walt Disney, Producer -- Walt Disney Productions
Henry Browne, Farmer -- United States Department of Agriculture
High over the Borders -- National Film Board of Canada
High Stakes in the East -- The Netherlands Information Bureau
Inside Fighting China -- National Film Board of Canada
It's Everybody's War -- United States Office of War Information
Listen to Britain -- British Ministry of Information
Little Belgium -- Belgian Ministry of Information
Little Isles of Freedom -- Victor Stoloff and Edgar Loew, Producers
Mr. Blabbermouth!—United States Office of War Information
Mr. Gardenia Jones—United States Office of War Information
The New Spirit -- Walt Disney, Producer -- Walt Disney Productions
The Price of Victory -- William H. Pine, Producer
A Ship Is Born -- United States Merchant Marine
Twenty-One Miles—British Ministry of Information
We Refuse to Die -- William C. Thomas, Producer
White Eagle} -- Concanen Films
Winning Your Wings -- United States Army Air Force
1943 - December 7th - United States Navy
Children of Mars
Plan for Destruction
Swedes in America
To the People of the United States
Tomorrow We Fly
Youth in Crisis
1944 - With the Marines at Tarawa - United States Marine Corps
Hymn of the Nations
New Americans
1945 - Hitler Lives - Gordon Hollingshead, Producer
Library of Congress
To the Shores of Iwo Jima
1946 - Seeds of Destiny - United States Department of War
Atomic Power
Life at the Zoo
Paramount News Issue#37
Traffic with the Devil
1947 - First Steps - United Nations Division of Films and Visual Information
Passport to Nowhere
School in the Mailbox
1948 - Toward Independence - United States Army
Heart to Heart
Operation Vittles
1949 - (tie):
A Chance To Live - Richard de Rochemont, Producer
So Much for So Little - Edward Selzer, Producer
1848
The Rising Tide

1950s

1950 - Why Korea? - Edmund Reek, Producer 
The Fight: Science Against Cancer
The Stairs
1951 - Benjy - Made by Fred Zinnemann with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures Corporation for the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital 
One Who Came Back
The Seeing Eye
1952 - Neighbours - Norman McLaren, Producer - National Film Board of Canada 
Devil Take Us
Epeira Diadema
Man Alive!
1953 - The Alaskan Eskimo - Walt Disney, Producer - Walt Disney Productions
The Living City
Operation Blue Jay
They Planted a Stone
The Word
1954 - Thursday's Children - World Wide Pictures and Morse Films 
Jet Carrier
Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait
1955 - Men against the Arctic - Walt Disney, Producer - Walt Disney Productions
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Face of Lincoln
1956 - The True Story of the Civil War - Louis Clyde Stoumen, Producer 
Man in Space
A City Decides
The Dark Wave
The House Without a Name
1957 - none given
1958 - Ama Girls - Ben Sharpsteen, Producer 
Employees Only
Journey Into Spring
The Living Stone
Oeuverture
1959 - Glass - Bert Haanstra, Producer
Donald in Mathmagic Land
From Generation to Generation

Note: A press release by AMPAS in 2005 says that "Documentary Short Subject winners Benjy (1951) and Neighbours (1952) are among a group of films that not only competed, but won Academy Awards in what were clearly inappropriate categories.  Benjy, directed by Fred Zinnemann and narrated by Henry Fonda, is the fictional tale of a crippled boy.  The film was used as a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital.  ... Norman McLaren's Neighbours, which today would compete in the Animated Short category, used "pixilation" – animation using living people - to create an allegory of war."

1960s

1960 - Giuseppina - James Hill, Producer 
Beyond Silence
En by ved navn København
George Grosz' Interregnum
Universe
1961 - Project Hope - Frank P. Bibas, Producer 
Breaking the Language Barrier
Cradle of Genius
Kahl
L'uomo in grigio
1962 - Dylan Thomas - Jack Howells, Producer 
The John Glenn Story
The Road to the Wall
1963 - Chagall - Simon Schiffrin, Producer 
The Five Cities of June
The Spirit of America
Thirty Million Letters
To Live Again
1964  - Nine from Little Rock - Charles Guggenheim, Producer 
140 Days Under the World
Breaking the Habit
Children Without
Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
1965 - To Be Alive! - Francis Thompson, Producer 
Mural on Our Street
Nyitany
Point of View
Yeats Country
1966 - A Year Toward Tomorrow - Edmond A. Levy, Producer 
Adolescence
Cowboy
The Odds Against
Részletek J.S. Bach Máté passiójából
1967 - The Redwoods - Mark Harris and Trevor Greenwood, Producers 
Monument to the Dream
A Place to Stand
See You at the Pillar
While I Run This Race
1968 - Why Man Creates - Saul Bass, Producer 
The House That Ananda Built
The Revolving Door
A Space to Grow
A Way Out of the Wilderness
1969 - Czechoslovakia 1968 - Denis Sanders and Robert M. Fresco, Producers
An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer
Jenny Is a Good Thing
Leo Beuerman
The Magic Machines

1970s

1970 - Interviews with My Lai Veterans - Joseph Strick, Producer 
The Gifts
A Long Way from Nowhere
Oisin
Time Is Running Out
1971 - Sentinels of Silence - Manuel Arango and Robert Amram, Producers 
Adventures in Perception
Art Is...
The Numbers Start with the River
Somebody Waiting
1972 - This Tiny World - Charles Huguenot van der Linden and Martina Huguenot van der Linden, Producers 
Hundertwassers Regentag
K-Z
Selling Out
The Tide of Traffic
1973 - Princeton: A Search for Answers - Julian Krainin and DeWitt L. Sage, Jr., Producers 
Background
Christo's Valley Curtain
Four Stones for Kanemitsu
Paisti ag obair
1974 - Don't - Robin Lehman, Producer 
City Out of Wilderness
Exploratorium
John Muir's High Sierra
Naked Yoga
1975 - The End of the Game - Claire Wilbur and Robin Lehman, Producers 
Arthur and Lillie
Millions of Years Ahead of Man
Probes in Space
Whistling Smith
1976 - Number Our Days - Lynne Littman and Barbara Myerhoff, Producers 
American Shoeshine
Blackwood
The End of the Road
Universe
1977 - Gravity Is My Enemy - John C. Joseph and Jan Stussy, Producers 
Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country
First Edition
Of Time, Tombs and Treasures
The Shetland Experience
1978 - The Flight of the Gossamer Condor - Jacqueline Phillips Shedd and Ben Shedd, Producers 
The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey
An Encounter with Faces
Goodnight Miss Ann
Squires of San Quentin
1979 - Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist - Saul J. Turell, Producer
Dae
Koryo Celadon
Nails
Remember Me

1980s

1980 - Karl Hess: Toward Liberty - Roland Hallé and Peter W. Ladue, Producer 
Don't Mess with Bill
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!
It's the Same World
Luther Metke at 94
1981 - Close Harmony - Nigel Noble, Producer 
Americas in Transition
Journey for Survival
See What I Say
Urge to Build
1982 - If You Love This Planet - Edward Le Lorrain and Terre Nash, Producers - National Film Board of Canada 
Gods of Metal
The Klan: A Legacy of Hate in America
To Live or Let Die
Traveling Hopefully
1983 - Flamenco at 5:15 - Cynthia Scott and Adam Symansky, Producers - National Film Board of Canada 
Ihr zent frei
In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us?
Sewing Woman
Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph
1984 - The Stone Carvers - Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner, Producers 
The Children of Soong Ching Ling
Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing
The Garden of Eden
Vospominaniye o Pavlovske
1985 - Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements - David Goodman, Producer 
The Courage to Care
Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date
Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra
The Wizard of the Strings
1986 - Women – for America, for the World - Vivienne Verdon-Roe, Producer 
Sam
Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse
The Master of Disaster
Debonair Dancers
1987 - Young at Heart - Sue Marx and Pamela Conn, Producers 
Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller
In the Wee Wee Hours...
Language Says It All
Silver Into Gold
1988 - You Don't Have to Die - William Guttentag and Malcolm Clarke, Producers 
Gang Cops
Family Gathering
The Children's Storefront
Portrait of Imogen
1989 - The Johnstown Flood - Charles Guggenheim, Producer 
Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9
Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future

1990s

1990 - Days of Waiting - Steven Okazaki, Producer 
Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember
Chimps: So Like Us
Burning Down Tomorrow
Journey Into Life: The World of the Unborn

1991 - Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment - Debra Chasnoff, Producer 
A Little Vicious
The Mark of the Maker
Birdnesters of Thailand
Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers

1992 - Educating Peter - Thomas C. Goodwin (posthumous win) and Gerardine Wurzburg 
When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories - Dorothy Fadiman
At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai - Geoffrey O'Connor
Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the 'Little Review' - Wendy L. Weinberg
The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein - Richard Elson & Sally Bochner

1993 - Defending Our Lives - Margaret Lazarus, Renner Wunderlich 
Chicks in White Satin
Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann

1994 - A Time for Justice - Charles Guggenheim 
89 mm od Europy
Blues Highway
School of the Americas Assassins
Straight from the Heart

1995 - One Survivor Remembers - Kary Antholis 
Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls
The Shadow of Hate
The Living Sea
Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper

1996 - Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien - Jessica Yu director, producer, writer and editor 
Cosmic Voyage
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage
An Essay on Matisse

1997 - A Story of Healing - Donna Dewey,  Carol Pasternak 
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
Amazon
Family Video Diaries: Daughter of the Bride
Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies

1998 - The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years  - Keiko Ibi 
A Place in the Land
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square - National Film Board of Canada

1999 - King Gimp - Susan Hannah Hadary, William A. Whiteford 
Eyewitness
The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo

2000s

2000 - Big Mama - Tracy Seretean
Curtain Call
Dolphins
On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom
The Man on Lincoln's Nose

2001 - Thoth - Sarah Kernochan and Lynn Appelle
Artists and Orphans: A True Drama
Sing!

2002 - Twin Towers - Bill Guttentag, Robert David Port, directors
 The Collector of Bedford Street - Welcome Change Productions - Alice Elliott producer and director
 Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks - Tell the Truth Pictures - Robert Hudson producer - Robert Houston director
 Why Can't We Be a Family Again? - Roger Weisberg, Murray Nossel directors

2003 - Chernobyl Heart - Maryann DeLeo
Asylum - Sandy McLeod and Gini Reticker
Ferry Tales - Katja Esson

2004 - Mighty Times: The Children's March – Robert Houston and Robert Hudson
 Autism Is a World – Gerardine Wurzburg
 The Children of Leningradsky – Hanna Polak and Andrzej Celinski
 Hardwood – Hubert Davis and Erin Faith Young
 Sister Rose's Passion – Oren Jacoby and Steve Kalafer

2005 - A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club

2006 - The Blood of Yingzhou District
Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story
Recycled Life
Rehearsing a Dream

2007 - Freeheld
La Corona
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

2008 - Smile Pinki
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306

2009 - Music by Prudence
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Rabbit à la Berlin

2010s

2010 - Strangers No More – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
 Killing in the Name – Jed Rothstein
 Poster Girl – Sara Nesson
 Sun Come Up – Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
 The Warriors of Qiugang – Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
2011 - Saving Face – Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement – Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis – Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad – James Spione
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom – Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

References

Documentary Short Subject