The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced the winners of the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards tonight at a gala event, hosted by Bill Nye at BRIC in Brooklyn.

“As the documentary world is exploding with great works, we are thrilled to shine a light on the best of the best,” said BFCA President Joey Berlin. “In The Year of the Documentary this was a very special night celebrating the giants in our business and some amazing newcomers.”

During the awards show, filmmaker Michael Moore was honored with the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Robert De Niro. Renowned documentarian Stanley Nelson was honored with the Critics’ Choice Impact Award, presented by Joe Berlinger, who received the same honor last year.

Presenters and attendees at the gala event included Rashida Jones, Pamela Adlon, Matt Dillon, Natasha Lyonne, Steve James, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Bing Liu, and Morgan Neville.

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” took home the evening’s most prestigious award for Best Documentary as well as Best Director for Morgan Neville and the award for Best Editing.

“Free Solo” took home the award for Best Sports Documentary, the award for Best Innovative Documentary and was honored for Best Cinematography.

The award for Best Limited Documentary Series went to “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.”

The Best Ongoing Documentary Series award went to “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

The Best Political Documentary winner was “RBG.”

“Quincy” took home the award for Best Music Documentary.

There was a tie for Best First Time Director between Bing Liu for “Minding the Gap” and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster for “Science Fair.”

Host Bill Nye lead the celebration of this year’s honorees for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary — Scotty Bowers (Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), Alex Honnold (Free Solo), Joan Jett (Bad Reputation), Quincy Jones (Quincy), David Kellman and Bobby Shafran (Three Identical Strangers), John McEnroe (John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection) and Leon Vitali (Filmworker).

This year, the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards introduced the Catalyst Sponsorship, a program for industry leaders to support the event. The inaugural sponsors included Focus Features, National Geographic Documentary Films, Netflix, CNN FIlms, and CuriosityStream.

The Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards are determined by qualified members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), and feature multiple categories across both television and film.

About Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards
The third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards honor the finest achievement in documentary features and non-fiction television. The nominees are determined by two committees, made up of BFCA and BTJA members with a background and expertise in the documentary field, chaired by Jennifer Merin and Christopher Campbell. Winners are chosen from among the nominees by a vote of qualified members of the BFCA and BTJA. The third annual awards ceremony is produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com.

The eligibility period for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards runs from January 1, 2018 and includes any film or television program scheduled to premiere on or before December 31, 2018.

About Critics’ Choice Awards
The Critics’ Choice Awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA and BTJA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. The BFCA is the largest film critics’ organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 300 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today’s film-going public. BTJA is the collective voice of journalists who regularly cover television for TV viewers, radio listeners and online audiences. Historically, the Critics’ Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

The CW will partner with the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) as the exclusive home to The 24th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Accolades for the finest achievements in both movies and television will be presented as part of a three-hour ceremony on The CW on Sunday, January 13, 2019. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com

About BFCA/BTJA
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 300 television, radio and online critics. The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) is a partner organization to the BFCA and includes TV, radio and Internet journalists who cover television on a regular basis. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com