The Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is given to the director(s) of the film and since 2014 it is also given to the producers. It was first presented in 2000, with Marc Singer's Dark Days being the first recipient of the award.

Winners and nominees 2000s YearFilmDistributing company(s)Director(s)2000 Dark Days Palm Pictures Marc Singer The Eyes of Tammy Faye Lionsgate Films Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato Long Night's Journey into Day Seventh Art Releasing Deborah Hoffmann and Frances Reid Paragraph 175 New Yorker Films Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman Sound and Fury Artistic License Films Josh Aronson2001 Dogtown and Z-Boys Sony Pictures Classics Stacy Peralta Go Tigers! IFC Films Kenneth A. Carlson LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton Maysles Films Inc. Deborah Dickson, Susan Froemke and Albert Maysles Promises Cowboy Pictures Carlos Bolado, B.Z. Goldberg, and Justine Shapiro Scratch Palm Pictures Doug Pray2002 Bowling for Columbine United Artists Michael Moore The Cockettes Strand Releasing Bill Weber and David Weissman Devil's Playground Cinemax Lucy Walker How to Draw a Bunny Artisan Entertainment John W. Walter Stevie Kartemquin Films Steve James2003 The Fog of War Sony Pictures Classics Errol Morris Mayor of the Sunset Strip First Look Studios George Hickenlooper My Architect New Yorker Films Nathaniel Kahn OT: Our Town Film Movement Scott Hamilton Kennedy Power Trip Films Transit International Paul Devlin2004 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster IFC Films Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Bright Leaves First Run Features Ross McElwee Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Shola Lynch Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust First Run Features Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky Tarnation Wellspring Media Jonathan Caouette2005 Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Magnolia Pictures Alex Gibney Grizzly Man Lionsgate Films Werner Herzog La Sierra Icarus Films Scott Dalton and Margarita Martinez Romántico Kino International Mark Becker Sir! No Sir! Balcony Releasing David Zeiger2006 The Road to Guantánamo Roadside Attractions Michael Winterbottom A Lion in the House PBS Distribution Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert My Country, My Country Zeitgeist Films Laura Poitras The Trials of Darryl Hunt THINKFilm Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg You're Gonna Miss Me Palm Pictures Keven McAlester2007 Crazy Love Magnolia Pictures Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens Lake of Fire THINKFilm Tony Kaye Manufactured Landscapes Zeitgeist Films Jennifer Baichwal The Monastery Koch-Lorber Films Pernille Rose Grønkjær The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair Truly Indie Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein2008 Man on Wire Magnolia Pictures James Marsh The Betrayal The Cinema Guild Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath Encounters at the End of the World THINKFilm Werner Herzog The Order of Myths The Cinema Guild Margaret Brown Up the Yangtze Zeitgeist Films Yung Chang2009 Anvil! The Story of Anvil'Anvil', '45365' Take Nonfiction at Spirit Awards|International Documentary Association Abramorama Sacha Gervasi Food, Inc. Magnolia Pictures Robert Kenner More than a Game Lionsgate Kristopher Belman October Country Topic Studios Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher Which Way Home HBO Films Rebecca Cammisa

2010s YearFilmDirector(s)Producer(s)2010 Exit Through the Gift ShopIndependent Spirit winners and nominees 2011-Los Angeles Times Banksy Marwencol Jeff Malmberg Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger Sweetgrass Lucien Castaing-Taylor Thunder Soul Mark Landsman2011 The InterruptersFilm Independent Spirit Awards: Complete List of Winners|IndieWire Steve James Steve James, Alex Kotlowitz An African Election Jarreth J. Merz and Kevin Merz Jarreth J. Merz Bill Cunningham New York Richard Press Philip Gefter The Redemption of General Butt Naked Daniele Anastasion and Eric Strauss We Were Here David Weissman2012 The Invisible WarThe Invisible War-Awards-IMDB Kirby Dick The Central Park Five Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon How to Survive a Plague David France Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present Matthew Akers and Jeff Dupre The Waiting Room Peter Nicks2013 20 Feet from Stardom2014 Independent Spirit Awards: 12 Years a Slave Takes Home Best Feature, Plus More Big Winners!|E! News Morgan Neville Gil Friesen, Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer and Christine Cynn Joshua Oppenheimer, Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo, Anonymous After Tiller Martha Shane and Lana Wilson Gideon's Army Dawn Porter Dawn Porter, Julie Goldman The Square Jehane Noujaim Karim Amer2014 CitizenfourSpirit Awards 2015: Winners Complete List|Hollywood Reporter Laura Poitras Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky 20,000 Days on Earth Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard Dan Bowen, James Wilson The Salt of the Earth Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado David Rosier Stray Dog Debra Granik Anne Rosellini Virunga Orlando von Einsiedel Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara2015 The Look of SilenceFilm Independent Spirit Awards 2016: Complete Winners List-US Magazine Joshua Oppenheimer Signe Byrge Sørensen (T)error Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe Best of Enemies Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville Heart of a Dog Laurie Anderson Laurie Anderson, Dan Janvey Meru Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi The Russian Woodpecker Chad Garcia Mike Lerner, Ram Devineni, Chad Gracia2016 O.J.: Made in America'O.J.: Made In America' Wins Independent Spirit Award For Best Documentary Feature|IndieWire Ezra Edelman Ezra Edelman, Deirdre Fenton, Libby Geist, Nina Krstic, Erin Leyden, Tamara Rosenberg, Connor Schell, Caroline Waterlow 13th Ava DuVernay Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick Cameraperson Kirsten Johnson Kirsten Johnson, Marilyn Ness I Am Not Your Negro Raoul Peck Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety, Hébert Peck Sonita Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami Gerd Haag Under the Sun Vitaly Mansky Natalya Manskaya2017 Faces PlacesIndependent Spirit Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List|E! News Agnès Varda and JR Rosalie Varda The Departure Lana Wilson Last Men in Aleppo Feras Fayyad Kareem Abeed, Søren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos Motherland Ramona Diaz Rey Cuerdo Quest Jonathan Olshefski Sabrina Schmidt Gordon2018 Won't You Be My Neighbor? Morgan Neville Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma Hale County This Morning, This Evening RaMell Ross RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim Minding the Gap Bing Liu Bing Liu, Diane Moy Quon Of Fathers and Sons Talal Derki Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert On Her Shoulders Alexandria Bombach Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams Shirkers Sandi Tan Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, Maya E. Rudolph2019 American Factory Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert, Julie Parker Benello Apollo 11 Todd Douglas Miller Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Petersen and Evan Krauss For Sama Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts Waad Al-Kateab Honeyland Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov, Atanas Georgiev Island of the Hungry Ghosts Gabrielle Brady Alexander Wadouh, Samm Haillay, Alex Kelly, Gizem Acarla and Gabrielle Brady

2020s YearFilmDirector(s)Producer(s)20202021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List|IndieWire Crip Camp Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht Nicole Newnham, James Lebrecht, Sara Bolder Collective Alexander Nanau Alexander Nanau, Hanka Kastelicová, Bernard Michaux, Bianca Oana Dick Johnson Is Dead Kirsten Johnson Kirsten Johnson, Katy Chevigny, Marilyn Ness The Mole Agent Maite Alberdi Marcela Santibáñez Time Garrett Bradley Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn2021Spirit Awards Winners: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Lost Daughter’ Wins Best Feature — Full List|IndieWire Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel Ascension Jessica Kingdon Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell Flee Jonas Poher Rasmussen Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen In the Same Breath Nanfu Wang Nanfu Wang, Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Jialing Zhang Procession Robert Greene Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, Douglas Tirola 2022 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Laura Poitras Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons All That Breathes Shaunak Sen Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann A House Made of Splinters Simon Lereng Wilmont Monica Hellström Midwives Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing, Mila Aung-Thwin, Ulla Lehmann, Bob Moore Riotsville, U.S.A. Sierra Pettengill Sierra Pettengill, Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot2023Four DaughtersKaouther Ben HaniaNadim CheikhrouhaBye Bye TiberiasLina SoualemJean-Marie NizanGoing to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni ProjectJoe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson Tommy OliverKokomo CityD. SmithBill Butler and Harris DoranThe Mother of All LiesAsmae El MoudirAsmae El Moudir2024No Other LandBasel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel SzorFabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge RønningGaucho GauchoMichael Dweck and Gregory KershawMichael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O'Reilly, Matthew PerniciaroHummingbirdsSilvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía "Beba" ContrerasLeslie Benavides, Miguel-Drake McLaughlin, Rivkah Beth Meadow, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falcó, Jillian SchlesingerPatrice: The MovieTed PassonKyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily SpivackSoundtrack to a Coup d'EtatJohan GrimonprezRémi Grellety, Daan Milius2025Spirit Awards 2026 Nominations: Full List – VarietyThe Perfect NeighborGeeta GandbhirGeeta Gandbhir, Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa PayneCome See Me in the Good LightRyan WhiteRyan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef WillenEndless CookieSeth Scriver and Peter ScriverSeth Scriver, Daniel Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris YurkovichMy Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in MoscowJulia LoktevJulia LoktevThe Tale of SilyanTamara KotevskaTamara Kotevska, Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski

See also Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Gotham Award for Best Documentary National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film

References