The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by the Directors Guild of America. It was first awarded at the 44th Directors Guild of America Awards in 1992. The DGA Documentary Awards Committee is currently co-chaired by Yance Ford and Patrick Creadon.
Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir remains the only animated film to ever won a DGA award.
Winners and nominees
1990s Year Winners and nominees Film 1991(44th) Barbara Kopple American DreamEleanor Coppola, Fax Bahr, and George Hickenlooper Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's ApocalypseAlbert Maysles, Bob Eisenhardt, Susan Froemke, and Peter Gelb Soldiers of Music: Rostropovich Returns to RussiaAlan Raymond Doing Time: Life Inside the Big House 1992(45th) Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Brother's KeeperRic Burns The Donner PartyMark Stouffer Braving Alaska 1993(46th) Barbara Kopple Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike TysonShari Cookson Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race WarBruce Kuerten and John DiJulio From Fields of PromiseSusan Raymond I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary SchoolSusan Steinberg American Masters for "Paul Simon: Born at the Right Time" 1994(47th) Steve James Hoop DreamsDan Geller and Dayna Goldfine Frosh: Nine Months in a Freshman DormJyll Johnstone Martha & EthelSusan Todd and Andrew Young Lives in HazardBethany Yarrow Mama Awethu! 1995(48th) Terry Zwigoff CrumbDeborah Hoffmann Complaints of a Dutiful DaughterFreida Lee Mock Maya Lin: A Strong Clear VisionBill Van Daalen Indianapolis: Ship of DoomHelen Whitney American Masters for "Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light" 1996(49th) Al Pacino Looking for RichardJoe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood HillsLeon Gast When We Were KingsJeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher Troublesome Creek: A MidwesternIsaac Mizrahi The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century for "Slaughter" 1997(50th) Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell Riding the RailsEllen Hovde and Muffie Meyer Liberty! The American Revolution for "Blows Must Decide"John O'Hagan WonderlandMichèle Ohayon Colors Straight UpPeter Rosen First Person Singular: I.M. Pei 1998(51st) Jerry Blumenthal, Peter Gilbert and Gordon Quinn Vietnam, Long Time ComingMatthew Diamond DancemakerSusan Lacy American Masters for "Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note"Nigel Noble Great Performances for "Porgy and Bess: An American Voice"Kyra Thompson Dying to Tell the Story 1999(52nd) Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen On the RopesBarry W. Blaustein Beyond the MatMarc Levin Thug Life in D.C.Errol Morris Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.Gary Weimberg The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez-Gomez
2000s Year Winners and nominees Film 2000(53rd) Charles Braverman High School Boot CampLaurie Collyer Nuyorican DreamMark Lewis The Natural History of the ChickenMichael Mierendorf Broken ChildDavid de Vries The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai 2001(54th) Chris Hegedus and Jehane Noujaim Startup.comCharles Braverman Rocky and Rolanda Stephen Ives Amato: A Love Affair with OperaFrances Reid and Deborah Hoffmann Long Night's Journey Into DayMartin J. Spinelli Life on Jupiter: The Story of Jens Nygaard, Musician 2002(55th) Tasha Oldham The Smith FamilyCharles Braverman Bottom of the NinthRebecca Cammisa and Rob Fruchtman Sister HelenMalcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender Prisoner of ParadiseLeah Mahan Sweet Old Song 2003(56th) Nathaniel Kahn My ArchitectSam Green and Bill Siegel The Weather UndergroundAndrew Jarecki Capturing the FriedmansErrol Morris The Fog of WarJosé Padilha Bus 174 2004(57th) Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni The Story of the Weeping CamelZana Briski and Ross Kauffman Born into BrothelsRoss McElwee Bright LeavesMichael Moore Fahrenheit 9/11Jehane Noujaim Control Room 2005(58th) Werner Herzog Grizzly ManKief Davidson and Richard Ladkani The Devil's MinerSean McAllister The Liberace of BaghdadRupert Murray Unknown White MaleBrent Renaud and Craig Renaud Off to War: Welcome to Baghdad 2006(59th) Arūnas Matelis Before Flying Back to EarthAmy J. Berg Deliver Us from EvilMichael Glawogger Workingman's DeathJames Longley Iraq in FragmentsJean-Henri Meunier Ici Najac, A Vous La Terre 2007(60th) Asger Leth Ghosts of Cité SoleilKen Burns and Lynn Novick The WarAlex Gibney Taxi to the Dark SideRichard E. Robbins Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime ExperienceBarbet Schroeder Terror's Advocate 2008(61st) Ari Folman Waltz with BashirPeter Gilbert and Steve James At the Death House DoorElizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco The Judge and the GeneralJames Marsh Man on WireGonzalo Arijón Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains 2009(62nd) Louie Psihoyos The CoveSacha Gervasi Anvil! The Story of AnvilMai Iskander Garbage DreamsRobert Kenner Food, Inc.Geoffrey Smith The English SurgeonAgnès Varda The Beaches of Agnès
2010s Year Winners and nominees Film 2010(63rd) Charles Ferguson Inside JobLixin Fan Last Train HomeAlex Gibney Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot SpitzerDavis Guggenheim Waiting for "Superman"Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger Restrepo 2011(64th) James Marsh Project NimJoe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Paradise Lost 3: PurgatorySteve James The InterruptersRichard Press Bill Cunningham New YorkMartin Scorsese George Harrison: Living in the Material World 2012(65th) Malik Bendjelloul Searching for Sugar ManKirby Dick The Invisible WarDavid France How to Survive a PlagueLauren Greenfield The Queen of VersaillesAlison Klayman Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry 2013(66th) Jehane Noujaim The SquareZachary Heinzerling Cutie and the BoxerJoshua Oppenheimer The Act of KillingSarah Polley Stories We TellLucy Walker The Crash Reel 2014(67th) Laura Poitras CitizenfourDan Krauss The Kill TeamJohn Maloof and Charlie Siskel Finding Vivian MaierJesse Moss The OvernightersOrlando von Einsiedel Virunga 2015(68th) Matthew Heineman Cartel LandJimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi MeruLiz Garbus What Happened, Miss Simone?Alex Gibney Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of BeliefAsif Kapadia Amy 2016(69th) Ezra Edelman O.J.: Made in AmericaOtto Bell The Eagle HuntressJosh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg WeinerRaoul Peck I Am Not Your NegroRoger Ross Williams Life, Animated 2017(70th) Matthew Heineman City of GhostsKen Burns and Lynn Novick The Vietnam WarBryan Fogel IcarusSteve James Abacus: Small Enough to JailErrol Morris Wormwood 2018(71st) Tim Wardle Three Identical Strangers Morgan Neville Won't You Be My Neighbor?RaMell Ross Hale County This Morning, This EveningElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin Free SoloBetsy West and Julie Cohen RBG 2019(72nd) Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert American Factory Feras Fayyad The CaveAlex Holmes MaidenLjubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska HoneylandNanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang One Child Nation
2020s Year Winners and nominees Film 2020(73rd) Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw The Truffle Hunters Pippa Ehrlich & James Reed My Octopus Teacher David France Welcome to Chechnya Amanda McBaine & Jesse Moss Boys State Benjamin Ree The Painter and the Thief 2021(74th) Stanley Nelson Jr. AtticaJessica Kingdon Ascension Raoul Peck Exterminate All the Brutes Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin The Rescue 2022(75th) Sara Dosa Fire of Love Matthew Heineman Retrograde Laura Poitras All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Daniel Roher Navalny Shaunak Sen All That Breathes 2023(76th) Mstyslav Chernov 20 Days in Mariupol Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp Bobi Wine: The People's President Madeleine Gavin Beyond Utopia Davis Guggenheim Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie D. Smith Kokomo City 2024(77th) Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev Porcelain War Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie Sugarcane Johan Grimonprez Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Ibrahim Nash'at Hollywoodgate Natalie Rae and Angela Patton Daughters 2025(78th) Mstyslav Chernov2000 Meters to AndriivkaGeeta GandbhirThe Perfect NeighborSara Khaki and Mohammadreza EyniCutting Through RocksElizabeth LoMistress DispellerLaura Poitras and Mark ObenhausCover-Up
Multiple wins and nominations WinsNominationsName (Year)2 3 Matthew Heineman (2015, 2017, 2022) 3 Jehane Noujaim (2001, 2004, 2013)2Mstyslav Chernov (2023, 2025) 2 Barbara Kopple (1991, 1993)1 4 Steve James (1994, 2008, 2011, 2017) 3 Joe Berlinger (1992, 2006, 2011) 3 Bruce Sinofsky (1992, 2006, 2011) 3 Charles Braverman (2000, 2001, 2002) 3 Laura Poitras (2014, 2022, 2025) 2 Peter Gilbert (1998, 2008) 2 James Marsh (2008, 2011)0 3 Errol Morris (1999, 2003, 2017) 3 Alex Gibney (2007, 2010, 2015) 3 Jimmy Chin (2015, 2018, 2021) 3 Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (2015, 2018, 2021) 2 Deborah Hoffmann (1995, 2001) 2 Ken Burns (2007, 2017) 2 Lynn Novick (2007, 2017) 2 Davis Guggenheim (2010, 2023) 2 David France (2012, 2020) 2 Jesse Moss (2014, 2020) 2 Raoul Peck (2016, 2021)
See also Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
References
External links (official website)