The Grierson Trust Unveils 2024 British Documentary Awards Winners

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The Grierson Trust has honored the winners of the 2024 British Documentary Awards in association with All3Media at a ceremony hosted by actor and comedian Kerry Godliman.

Channel 4 picked up the highest number of awards with five, followed by the BBC with three, Netflix with two and Paramount+ with one. 20 Days in Mariupol and Me and the Voice in My Head both won in two categories.

From PBS’s FRONTLINE and The Associated Press, 20 Days in Mariupol won best current affairs documentary and best cinema documentary. Me and the Voice in My Head, produced by Hungry Bear Media for Channel 4, won best single documentary in the domestic category and its presenter, Joe Tracini, won best documentary presenter.

Best single documentary in the international category went to My Name is Happy, produced by October Films, Red Zed Films and Horovel Films for Channel 4.

The best arts documentary winner was Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club from Broccoli Pictures for Netflix.

The Sky Documentaries best music documentary award was presented to Paramount+’s Milli Vanilli, produced by Keep On Running Pictures, Fulwell 73 and MRC.

The theatrical film Mighty Penguins, produced by Meadowlark, Firelight and Fever, won the Broadcast Sport best sports documentary award.

Netflix’s Stamped from the Beginning won the best history documentary award. It was produced by One Story Up.

For best science documentary, BBC’s The Jennings vs Alzheimer’s, produced by Expectation Entertainment, was awarded.

Silverback, an Off the Fence production for BBC in co-production with France Télévisions in association with Featuristic Films, came out on top for best natural history or environmental documentary.

Another BBC documentary, Big Zuu Goes, was awarded the Channel 4 best popular culture documentary. It was produced by Acme TV.

The Netflix best documentary series prize went to The Push: Murder on the Cliff, from Candour Productions for Channel 4.

The All3Media best student documentary award was bestowed upon The Waiter, the Scientist and Jenny, a film out of the National Film and Television School.

Channel 4’s Ted & Noel, from Happenstance Films, was awarded for best documentary short.

Also, the BBC Grierson Trustees’ Award was presented to Stacey Dooley.

“Stacey Dooley has brought a refreshing new voice to documentary-making and has consistently brought challenging subjects to new audiences, especially younger viewers and children,” a Grierson Trust representative said. “Her films and series have fearlessly tackled the big issues that affect young, diverse and marginalized people around the world. Her emotional intelligence enables her to build a natural rapport with her interviewees, and she is also willing to challenge those in authority by asking direct, difficult questions. This has earned her respect from audiences and peers alike, and she has regularly been mentioned by our Grierson DocLab trainees as the inspiration for wanting to become a documentary maker. We are all thrilled to recognize Stacey’s contribution to documentary-making with this year’s Trustees’ Award.”

“This year’s Grierson Awards showcase the creativity and ambition of the best documentary makers and the richness that the diversity of our industry brings to the screen,” added Lorraine Heggessy, chair of The Grierson Trust. “The winning films tell compelling stories on a wide range of domestic and international subjects. Documentary makers around the world are under pressure not just from budgets but also from the increasingly polarised climate in which they operate. Through these awards, the Trust salutes their commitment and bravery, along with recognising and thanking commissioners and funders for their continued support for the genre.”