“You Can See Everything” swept the 11th Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday, winning all five categories it entered, including best documentary feature. A24’s film also took best director for Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, best cinematography for David Bolen, best editing for Adam Locke-Norton and best score for Ari Balouzian. The sweep came at a gala in New York’s Edison Ballroom, hosted by Ross Mathews.
The film arrives with commercial momentum few documentaries enjoy. It is set to cross $80 million at the domestic box office, putting it on pace to pass “Marty Supreme” as A24’s second-highest grosser, behind only “Backrooms.”
Neon’s “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” collected three prizes: best first documentary feature for David Greaves, best archival documentary and best historical documentary. Neon also took best music documentary with “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” and best political documentary with “NAZA.”
The remaining winners spread across distributors. “The History of Concrete,” written and performed by John Wilson, won best narration. Alex Gibney’s “Musk” took best biographical documentary, “Nuisance Bear” won science and nature, and “Everest: The Other Side” won sports. Best true crime ended in a tie between Netflix’s “The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare” and Investigation Discovery’s “Lost Women of Alaska.” Netflix’s “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” won best short. In series, National Geographic’s “Lion” took the limited-series prize and ESPN’s “30 for 30” won among ongoing series.
Ron Howard received the Critics Choice Impact Award from Frank Oz. Filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, known for “The Square” and “The Vow,” accepted the Pennebaker Award, presented by Chris Hegedus, the widow and collaborator of D A Pennebaker.
Christopher Campbell, the Critics Choice Association’s vice president of documentary, said the winners reflect the creativity and ambition shaping nonfiction filmmaking, from new storytelling methods to films that take on pressing political and social issues.
Oscar voters have not followed the group closely. Two Critics Choice winners have gone on to claim the documentary feature Oscar, “O.J.: Made in America” in 2016 and “Summer of Soul” in 2021, and the other eight winners in that span were not even nominated. TheWrap also noted the awards have a weak record at forecasting Academy results.
That history leaves the sweep as an early signal rather than a forecast. A24’s box office strength and the film’s across-the-board wins give it standing in the conversation, yet the Academy’s documentary branch votes by its own rules.
