Oscar and BAFTA-winning Ukrainian feature 20 Days in Mariupol has picked up two nominations at the prestigious British Grierson Awards, along with docs on Wham!, Boris Johnson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Mstyslav Chernov’s movie charting the time the filmmaker spent in the besieged city at the start of the Ukraine War is nommed for Best Current Affairs Documentary and Best Cinema Documentary at the prestigious British gongs. It was selected as the Ukrainian submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards but was instead nominated in the Best Documentary Feature Film category, beating off competition from the likes of Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which is also nominated for two Griersons.
Other projects to accrue two nominations include Netflix’s Wham!, Channel 4’s The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson and a rare nod for Prime Video with Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything, which highlights this year’s penchant for sports docs.
Only one doc, Channel 4’s Me and the Voice in My Head about Joe Trancini’s borderline personality disorder, secured three noms, including one for Trancini in Best Presenter.
The coveted Best Documentary Series category is dominated by Channel 4, with five shows including To Catch a Copper and Evacuation. Netflix has American Nightmare contesting and the BBC is represented by Cold Case Investigators: Solving Britain’s Sex Crimes.
Overall, the BBC tops the awards shortlist with 28 entries across its channels and iPlayer followed by Channel 4 with 23, Netflix with 17, Sky Documentaries with eight, National Geographic with four, Disney+ and ITV with three, and Prime Video, Paramount+, Netflix’s Still Watching YouTube channel and the Guardian with two each.
Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of The Grierson Trust said: “This year’s shortlist highlights the power of documentaries to tell new stories that cut through in a sea of content that’s constantly fighting for our attention. These films really connect with audiences, uncovering characters and perspectives that have previously been unseen. We have been so impressed by the breadth and range of entries which demonstrate that – despite the very difficult current climate – our industry remains committed to identifying new talent and exploring pressing issues such as mental health, sexuality, gender, and disability, all through best-in-class filmmaking.”
Last year’s awards, in which the BBC won six gongs, was marred by an antisemitic incident in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel. This year’s awards take place on November 6 at a new home – Roundhouse – the iconic music and arts venue in Camden, London.
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