National Board of Review: Top Five Documentary Films

Top Five Documentary Films
Awarded forExcellence in documentary filmmaking
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Board of Review
First award2003

The following is a list of the Top Five Documentary Films chosen annually by the National Board of Review, beginning in 2003.

Notes

Top Five Documentary Films

2000s

Year Film Director(s) Ref.
2003 Capturing the Friedmans ≠ Andrew Jarecki [1]
The Fog of War † Errol Morris
My Architect ≠ Nathaniel Kahn
Spellbound Jeffrey Blitz
Winged Migration Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin
2004 Born into Brothels † Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman [2]
Paper Clips Joe Fab
Super Size Me ≠ ‡ Morgan Spurlock
The Story of the Weeping Camel ≠ Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession Alexandra Cassavetes
2005 Ballets Russes Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller [3]
Grizzly Man Werner Herzog
Mad Hot Ballroom Marilyn Agrelo
March of the Penguins † # Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau
Murderball ≠ Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro
2006 51 Birch Street Doug Block [4]
An Inconvenient Truth † Davis Guggenheim
Iraq in Fragments ≠ James Longley
Shut Up & Sing Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck
Wordplay Patrick Creadon
2007 Darfur Now Ted Braun [5]
In the Shadow of the Moon David Sington
Nanking # Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman
Taxi to the Dark Side †‡ Alex Gibney
Toots Kristi Jacobson
2008 American Teen Nanette Burstein [6]
The Betrayal – Nerakhoon ≠ Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Dear Zachary Kurt Kuenne
Encounters at the End of the World ≠ Werner Herzog
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired Marina Zenovich
2009 Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country ≠ ≈ Anders Østergaard [7]
Crude Joe Berlinger
Food, Inc. ≠ Robert Kenner
Good Hair # Jeff Stilson
The Most Dangerous Man in America ≠ Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith

2010s

Year Film Director(s) Ref.
2010 A Film Unfinished Yael Hersonski [8]
Inside Job †‡ Charles Ferguson
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg
Restrepo ≠ Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
The Tillman Story Amir Bar-Lev
2011 Born to Be Wild David Lickley [9]
Buck Cindy Meehl
George Harrison: Living in the Material World Martin Scorsese
Project Nim James Marsh
Senna # Asif Kapadia
2012 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Alison Klayman [10]
Detropia Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
The Gatekeepers ≠ Dror Moreh
The Invisible War ≠ # Kirby Dick
Only the Young Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims
2013 20 Feet from Stardom † Morgan Neville [11]
The Act of Killing ≠ Joshua Oppenheimer
After Tiller Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
Casting By Tom Donahue
The Square ≠ Jehane Noujaim
2014 Art and Craft Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman [12]
Jodorowsky's Dune Frank Pavich
Keep on Keepin' On Alan Hicks
The Kill Team Dan Krauss
Last Days in Vietnam ≠ # Rory Kennedy
2015 Best of Enemies Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville [13]
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Stanley Nelson Jr.
The Diplomat David Holbrooke
Listen to Me Marlon Stevan Riley
The Look of Silence ≠ ≈ Joshua Oppenheimer
2016 De Palma Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow [14]
The Eagle Huntress Otto Bell
Gleason Clay Tweel
Life, Animated ≠ Roger Ross Williams
Miss Sharon Jones! Barbara Kopple
2017 Abacus: Small Enough to Jail ≠ Steve James [15]
Brimstone & Glory Viktor Jakovleski
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Lili Fini Zanuck
Faces Places ≠ Agnès Varda and JR
Hell On Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS Mohammed Jambaz, Sebastian Junger, and Nick Quested
2018 Crime + Punishment Stephen Maing [16]
Free Solo † ≈ Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Minding the Gap ≠ Bing Liu
Three Identical Strangers ≈ Tim Wardle
Won't You Be My Neighbor? √ Morgan Neville
2019 American Factory † ≈ Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert [17]
Apollo 11 √ Todd Douglas Miller
The Black Godfather Reginald Hudlin
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese
Wrestle Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer

2020s

Year Film Director(s) Ref.
2020 All In: The Fight for Democracy # Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés [18]
Boys State Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
Dick Johnson Is Dead ≈ Kirsten Johnson
Miss Americana Lana Wilson
The Truffle Hunters ≈ Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
2021 Ascension ≠ ≈ Jessica Kingdon [19]
Attica ≠ Traci Cury and Stanley Nelson Jr.
Flee ≠ ≈ Jonas Poher Rasmussen
The Rescue ≈ Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Morgan Neville
2022 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed ≠ Laura Poitras [20]
All That Breathes ≠ ≈ Shaunak Sen
Descendant ≈ Margaret Brown
Turn Every Page Lizzie Gottlieb
Wildcat Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh
2023 20 Days in Mariupol † ≈ Mstyslav Chernov [21]
32 Sounds Sam Green
The Eternal Memory ≠ Maite Alberdi
The Pigeon Tunnel ‡ Errol Morris
A Still Small Voice Luke Lorentzen
2024 Black Box Diaries ≠ Shiori Itō [22]
Dahomey Mati Diop
Look into My Eyes Lana Wilson
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story √ Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Will & Harper Josh Greenbaum
2025 2000 Meters to Andriivka Mstyslav Chernov [23]
Come See Me in the Good Light Ryan White
My Mom Jayne Mariska Hargitay
Natchez Suzannah Herbert
Orwell: 2+2=5 Raoul Peck

References

  1. ↑ "2003 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  2. ↑ "2004 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  3. ↑ Mohr, Ian (2005-12-12). "NBR in 'Good' mood". Variety. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  4. ↑ Zeitchik, Steven (2006-12-06). "National Board of Review names 'Iwo Jima' best film". Variety. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  5. ↑ Bagger, The (2007-12-05). "The National Board of Review Award Winners for 2007". The Carpetbagger. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  6. ↑ "National Board Picks 'Slumdog' As Best Film". The Washington Post. 2008-12-05. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  7. ↑ "'Up In The Air' And 'Invictus' Win Over National Board Of Review". Deadline. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  8. ↑ "2010 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  9. ↑ Grosz, Christy (2011-12-01). "'Hugo' is National Board of Review's best film". Variety. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  10. ↑ Team, The Deadline (2012-12-05). "National Board Of Review Best Film: 'Zero Dark Thirty'". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  11. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (2013-12-04). "'Her' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  12. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (2014-12-02). "'A Most Violent Year' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  13. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2015-12-01). "'Mad Max: Fury Road' Named Best Film By National Board Of Review; 'The Martian' Grabs Three Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  14. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (2016-11-29). "'Manchester by the Sea' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2017-11-28). "National Board Of Review Winners: 'The Post' Comes Up Strong With Best Pic, Best Actress Meryl Streep, Best Actor Tom Hanks". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  16. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (2018-11-27). "National Board of Review Names 'Green Book' Best Film of 2018". Variety. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (2019-12-03). "'The Irishman' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  18. ↑ nbr_admin (2021-01-26). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2020 AWARD WINNERS". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  19. ↑ nbr_admin (2021-12-02). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2021 AWARD WINNERS". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  20. ↑ nbr_admin (2022-12-08). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2022 AWARD WINNERS". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  21. ↑ nbr_admin (2023-12-06). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW NAMES 2023 HONOREES". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  22. ↑ nbr_admin (2024-12-04). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW NAMES 2024 HONOREES". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  23. ↑ nbr_admin (2025-12-03). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW NAMES 2025 HONOREES". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
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