Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story led the pack of winners, sweeping with six accolades in all of its nominated categories at the ninth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, held today at The Edison Ballroom in New York City. In a surprise moment, the film also shared a win with Netflix’s Will & Harper for best documentary feature.
Also honored during the ceremony was Oscar-nominated documentarian Rory Kennedy, who received the Pennebaker Award, named for the late Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award winner D. A. Pennebaker (The War Room). Pennebaker’s widow and producing partner Chris Hegedus presented the award.
The celebration was live-streamed on platforms YouTube, X and Facebook, with viewing also made available on the Critics Choice Association website beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Debuting at Sundance Film Festival, Super/Man became a favorite among critics upon its premiere. The movie tells the emotional story of Reeve’s rise from unknown actor to movie icon — due to his range of roles, including his portrayal as the Man of Steel in four Superman films — whose life switched course following a near-fatal horseriding accident that paralyzed him from the neck down and led him to become an activist for disability rights.
Following behind with two awards each were Netflix’s Simone Biles Rising, National Geographic’s Sugarcane and Apple TV+’s The Last of the Sea Women. Find a full list of the features nominated here.
The event was hosted by actor and longtime-event supporter Erich Bergen. Presenters and attendees included Ron Howard, Chelsea Clinton with Amanda Zurawski (as part of the team behind the doc Zurawski v. Texas), Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Seinfeld, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan, Lorraine Toussaint, Michael Cyril Creighton, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Ali Wentworth, R.J. Cutler, Lauren Greenfield, Andrew Jarecki, Ken Leung, Chai Vasarhelyi, Marc Shaiman and more.
Christopher Campbell, VP of documentaries of the Critics Choice Association said in a statement, “Tonight brought about some wonderful surprises as we celebrated a fantastic array of documentaries and the remarkable people whose stories they told. Our ninth show was certainly our most inspiring yet. Congratulations to all the winners!”
Below is a complete list of the winners:
Best Documentary Feature (TIE)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Will & Harper (Netflix)
Best Director
Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s)
Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – Daughters (Netflix)
Best Cinematography
Iris Ng, Eunsoo Cho, Justin Turkowski – The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
Best Editing
Otto Burnham – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Best Score
Ilan Eshkeri – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Best Narration
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces (Apple TV+), Written and performed by Steve Martin
Best Archival Documentary
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Best Historical Documentary
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Best Biographical Documentary
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
Best Music Documentary
Music by John Williams (Walt Disney Studios)
Best Political Documentary
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Best Science/Nature Documentary
The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
Best Sports Documentary
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
Best True Crime Documentary
Sugarcane (National Geographic)
Best Short Documentary
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Netflix)
Best Limited Documentary Series
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
Best Ongoing Documentary Series
30 for 30 (ESPN)
