The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) unveiled the winners of the Documentary categories at the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, held on Thursday (6/26) at the Palladium Times Square in New York City. The evening was hosted by Negin Farsad, comedian, filmmaker, and writer.
National Geographic led the way with six wins. Next was Netflix with four. The marquee Best Documentary category winner was MSNBC’s The Sing Sing Chronicles.
National Geographic’s wins came for Outstanding Historical Documentary (Tsunami: Race Against Time), Outstanding Nature documentary (Paul Nicklen & Christina Mittenmeier: Win or Die), Outstanding Writing – Documentary and Outstanding Promotional Announcement (both for Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story), Outstanding Editing (Blink), and Outstanding Music Composition (Endurance).
Jon Else, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and director, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking contributions to the craft of nonfiction storytelling. The award was presented by Carrie Lozano, president and CEO of ITVS.
The ceremony featured presenters from across the documentary filmmaking community, including: Muta’Ali (MoviePass, MovieCrash), Joe Berlinger (Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial), Lisa Cortés (The Space Race), Gabriela Cowperthwaite (The Grab), and Barak Goodman (Kissinger).
The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards were presented in two separate ceremonies: News categories were honored on Wednesday night (6/25) followed the next evening when Documentary categories were celebrated.
“The talents of our journalistic and documentary communities have profoundly shaped our culture and nation,” said Terry O’Reilly, chairman of NATAS. “In the face of evolving societal landscapes, their unwavering dedication to truth and storytelling has illuminated critical issues, fostered crucial conversations, and empowered the public.”
Adam Sharp, president and CEO of NATAS, added, “These honorees are leaders in bringing truth to our nation’s screens–through fearless journalism and powerful documentary storytelling. Their work sets the standard for excellence in the field. We are particularly proud to recognize the extraordinary career of Jon Else and our 2025 class of Gold & Silver Circle inductees.”
The Gold and Silver Circle is a society honoring members of the television and wider broadcasting community who have made an enduring contribution to the industry. These honorees are an elite group of professionals who have made significant contributions to television for 50 and 25 years, respectively.
GOLD CIRCLE – 2025 DOCUMENTARY INDUCTEES:
Michael Kirk (Filmmaker, PBS Frontline and Kirk Documentary Group)
Gordon Quinn (Filmmaker, Kartemquin Films)
Marcia Smith (Filmmaker, Firelight Media)
SILVER CIRCLE – 2025 DOCUMENTARY INDUCTEES:
Gemma Cubero del Barrio (Producer, Director & Writer, PBS)
Aljernon Tunsil (Editor, PBS and Firelight Films)
The 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards honor programming originally released in calendar year 2024, selected from more than 2,200 submissions and judged by a panel of 980 peer professionals from across the news and documentary industry.
This year’s ceremony was produced by NATAS with Lisa Armstrong and Adam Sharp serving as executive producers, and Amy Schmelzer as News & Documentary administration. The program was directed by John D’Incecco.
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of the winners honored on Thursday evening:
DOCUMENTARY NIGHT WINNERS
Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
We Will Dance Again
Paramount+ [See It Now Studios, HOT 8, BBC Storyville, Sipur Studios,
Bitachon365, MGM Television, HSCC]
Producer Michal Weits
Director Yariv Mozer
Cinematographer Nir Maman, Shahar Reznik
Writer Yariv Mozer
Executive Producer Orly Arbell, Dorit Hessel, Arturo Interian, Lucie Kon, Sheldon Lazarus, Rinat Klein Maron, Leo Pearlman, Emilio Schenker, Michael Schmidt, Dari Shai, Haim Slutzky, Gideon Tadmor, Ben Turner, Gabe Turner, Ariel Weisbrod, Ben Winston, Terence Wrong, Susan Zirinsky
Supervising Producer Aysu Saliba, Cara Tortora
Field Producer Hagit Segal
Associate Producer Ami Goldman, Megan McBride
Editor Roy Balbirsky, Yasmine Novak
Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary
The Sixth
A24 [Change Content]
Executive Producer Ben Cotner, Emily Osborne
Line Producer Grace Sin
Co-Executive Producer Adriana Banta, Sarba Das, Marissa Torres Ericson
Senior Producer Lauren Hafner Addison
Coordinating Producer Rebecca M. Abraham
Field Producer Margaret McEvoy
Editor Jeff Consiglio, Chrystie Martinez Gouz
Additional Cinematography Neil Barrett, Michael Crommett, Bahadir Gurel, Stephen Jeter, Samuel Kretchmar, Caz Rubacky
Additional Dialogue Editor Rusty Dunn
Additional Line Producer Cristina DiLegge, Michael Saffran, Kathleen Simmonds
Additional Music Christopher Knight, Tomás Videla
Additional Re-recording Mixer Tristan Baylis
Animator Michael Merlino, Sean Vickery
Archival Consultant Nino Shengelaia, Julia Squilla
Archival Researcher Sophie ReVeal
Assistant Editor Evan Gross
Associate Producer / Archival Researcher Jason Goldberg
Colorist Marcy Robinson
Composer H. Scott Salinas
DI Assist Rebecca Conner, Myahdellese Jones
DI Executive Producer Chris Peterson
DI Producer Tiffany Gale
Dialogue Editor Peter Russell
Finishing Editor Alex Hartley
Lead Designer / Animator Chris Bialkowski
Music Editor Jakob Freudendahl
Post Production Supervisor Kevin Otte
Producer / Director / Cinematographer Sean Fine
Re-recording Mixer Tom Paul
Senior DI Producer Megan Rumph
Sound Recordists Brian Buckley, Spencer Smith
Visual Effects Editor Andres Marte
Writer / Director / Producer Andrea Nix Fine
Outstanding Social Issue Documentary
Two American Families: 1991-2024
FRONTLINE
PBS
Producer / Director / Editor Tom Casciato
Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath
Managing Editor Andrew Metz
Senior Producer Nina Chaudry, Frank Koughan
Reporter Bill Moyers
Editor Andrew Fredericks
Producer / Director / Writer Kathleen Hughes
Outstanding Investigative Documentary
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders
Netflix [Stardust Frames, Duplass Brothers Productions]
Producer Maggie Ambrose, Shuli Harel
Director Zachary Treitz
Cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz, Chris Messina
Executive Producer Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Christian Hansen, Juliana Lembi, Zachary Treitz, Chapman Way, Maclain Way
Co-Producer Carolyn Craddock
Field Producer Jeremy Koch, Rachel Walden
Cameraperson Matt Clegg, Mattia Palombi
Investigative Reporter Christian Hansen
Editor Joshua Banville, Jay Deuby, Sean Frechette, Eric Schuman, Seth Skundrick
Outstanding Historical Documentary
Tsunami: Race Against Time
National Geographic [Blast Films]
Producer Arantxa Hernandez Barthe
Director Daniel Bogado
Cinematographer Charlie Laing, DUANE McCLUNIE
Executive Producer Danny Horan, Carolyn Payne, Tanya Winston
Line Producer Samara Midler, Laura Miller
Series Producer James Parris
Archive Producer Siobhan Harvey
Editor Audinga Kucinskaite, Bruce Law, Chris Nicholls, Livia Serpa
Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary
Madu
Disney + [Disney Branded Television, Hunting Lane Films]
Producer Rachel Halilej, Katie McNeill, Jamie Patricof
Director Joel Kachi Benson
Director / Producer Matt Ogens
Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary
Hunt for the Oldest DNA
NOVA
PBS [Handful of Films, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, NOVA/GBH, ZDF, DR
Danish Broadcasting Corporation]
Producer Ally Barry, Richard Stone, Sandra Tober
Executive Producer Sean B. Carroll, Julia Cort, John Rubin, Chris Schmidt
Editor Jay Macmillan, Jen Randall, Tim Symes
Writer / Director / Executive Producer Niobe Thompson
Outstanding Nature Documentary
Paul Nicklen & Cristina Mittermeier: Win or Die
Photographer
National Geographic [Little Monster Films]
Cinematographer Ronan Killeen, Alex Pritz
Executive Producer Anna Barnes, Jimmy Chin, Betsy Forhan, Pagan Harleman, Chris Kugelman, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Line Producer Suzanne Giordano
Co-Executive Producer Brent Kunkle
Editorial Producer Shelby Hougui
Editor Nick August Perna
Archival Producer Michael Churton
Assistant Editor Luz Zamora
Post Supervisor Peter Jensen
Senior Line Producer Stephanie Stoltzfus
VP Production Aideen Kane
Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary
Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy
Netflix [Grain Media]
Producer Flora Bagenal
Director Nic Stacey
Cinematographer Brendan McGinty
Writer Nic Stacey
Executive Producer Chloe Leland, Alexander Marengo, Orlando Von Einsiedel
Line Producer Alexander Brunati
Editor Samuel R Santana
Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary
The Truth vs. Alex Jones
HBO | Max [HBO Documentary Films, AMOS Pictures]
Producer Marguerite Gaudin
Executive Producer Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
Supervising Producer Anna Klein
Associate Producer Milo Riley-Smith
Editor William Grayburn, Peter Haddon
Director / Producer / Cinematographer Dan Reed
Outstanding Short Documentary
The Dirty Business of Monkey Laundering
Bloomberg Investigates
Bloomberg
Producer Adrianne Jeffries
Cinematographer David Dominguez
Co-Executive Producer Neville Gillett, Kyle Kramer, Jordan Oplinger
Series Producer Leila Hussain
Reporter Jonathan Franklin
Cameraperson Nicholas Bennett, Ryan Cavataro, Anton Delgado, Josh Deveaux, Beau Molloy, Chris Mosson, Paul Overstrom, Wes Reel, Alexander Thornburg, Gialcarlo Zevallos
Editor Victoria Blackburne-Daniell
Editorial Producer David Rovella
Best Documentary
The Sing Sing Chronicles
MSNBC [NBC News Studios, MSNBC Films, Trilogy Films]
Producer Sadie Bass, Lauren Capps, Nick McElroy
Cinematographer John Bentley, Bryant Fisher, Sean Gallagher, Rich White
Executive Producer Andy Berg, Liz Cole, Elizabeth Fischer, Rashida Jones, Rebecca Kutler, Amanda Spain
Line Producer Amanda Moore
Associate Producer Meghan Shiels
Post Producer Alex Pilkington
Editor Sonia Gonzalez-Martinez, Rosie Walunas
Co-Editor Dave Monteagudo
Assistant Editor Daniel Barbour, David Scherker
Director / Executive Producer Dawn Porter
Executive Producer / Cinematographer Dan Slepian
Executive Producer / Showrunner Kimberley Ferdinando
Outstanding Writing – Documentary
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
National Geographic [Silverback Films]
Writer Charlie Hamilton James
Outstanding Research – Documentary
The Grab
Center for Investigative Reporting Studios [Magnolia Pictures, Participant
Media, Rocklin | Faust, Impact Partners]
Researcher McKenzie Funk, Nathan Halverson, JoeBill Muñoz, Mallory Newman, Amanda Pike, David Ritsher, Emma C. Schwartz, Yinuo Shi
Outstanding Direction – Documentary
Frida
Prime Video [Imagine Documentaries, TIME Studios]
Director Carla Gutiérrez
Outstanding Cinematography – Documentary
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough
Netflix [CBC, Sky, Humble Bee Films]
Director of Photography Kevin Flay, Hugo Kitching
Cameraperson James Aldred, Luke Barnett, Ralph Bower, Duncan Brake, Tavish Campbell, Rod Clarke, Ben Cunningham, Filipe Deandrade, Adam Horder, Deirdre Leowinata, Katie Mayhew, Sam Meyrick, Roger Munns, Duncan Parker, Robin Smith, Romilly Spiers, Gavin Thurston, Darren West, Mark Yates
Outstanding Editing – Documentary
Blink
National Geographic [MRC, EYESTEELFILM, National Geographic
Documentary Films, Fishbowl Films, Motive]
Editor Ryan Mullins, Miranda Yousef
Associate Editor Rachelle Hamilton
Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary
Omnivore
Apple TV+ [Fifth Season, Film 45]
Designer Margherita Premuroso
Lead Designer Sky Bird
Animator Steven Do, Cindy SooHoo, Trix Taylor
Creative Lead Benjamin Woodlock
Designer / Animator Steve Biggert
Graphics Editor Rachel Fowler, Javier Gonzalez
Outstanding Music Composition – Documentary
Endurance
National Geographic [A Little Dot Studios, Consequential, History Hit Production, Little Monster Films, National Geographic Documentary Films]
Composer Daniel Pemberton
Outstanding Sound – Documentary
Earthsounds
Apple TV+ [Offspring Films]
Sound Recordist Marc Anderson
Sound Editor Jonny Crew, Tom Mercer, Tim Owens, Luke O’Connell, Owen Peters, Owen Shirley
Dubbing Mixer Graham Wild
Foley Artist Paul Ackerman, Rory Joseph, Myles Ackerman Smith
Foley Editor Ellie Bowler
Sound Supervisor Kate Hopkins
Outstanding Lighting Direction – Documentary
Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial
Netflix [Smuggler Entertainment, Third Eye Motion Picture Company]
Director of Photography Jeff Hutchens
Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design – Documentary
You’re Being Lied To About Voter Fraud. Here’s the
Truth.
The New York Times Opinion
The New York Times [Sharp As Knives]
Creative Director Neil Makhija
Art Director Jim Batt, Kim Boekbinder, Molly Crabapple
Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Documentary
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
National Geographic [Silverback Films, Silk Factory]
Executive Producer Chris Spencer
Creative Director Nicole Strong
Producer Michael Knopf, Mihaela Muhtarova
Design Director Carla Daeninckx
Editor Martin Wrench
Executive Creative Director Andrew Snook
Project Manager Isabella Alonzo
Senior Writer / Producer David Numbers
Outstanding Regional Documentary
The Holly
Rocky Mountain Public Media [Heartland Chapter]
Director / Producer Julian Rubinstein
Producer Dia Sokol Svage, Donnie l. Betts
