You Can See Everything Sweeps Five Critics Choice Documentary Awards

By Daniel Okafor

Five-for-five

You Can See Everything won all five awards for which it was nominated at Sunday’s 2026 Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Five for five. The arithmetic is unusually clean.

The Elizabeth Holmes documentary, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, swept best documentary feature, director, cinematography, editing and score. It is A24’s latest triumph and the project’s first major award wins.

The film debuted a little over two months earlier with a surprise Telluride screening, then received a high-profile New York Film Festival screening as anticipation grew ahead of its Oct. 16 theatrical release.

Since hitting theaters, it has grossed nearly $80 million domestically, placing it behind only Fahrenheit 9/11 and Everest among the highest-grossing documentaries. On the worldwide all-time chart, it sits lower, and many overseas territories have not opened it yet.

Across the 18 competitive categories, You Can See Everything took five nominations and five wins; Once Upon a Time in Harlem converted three of five nominations, while Ava DuVernay’s 14th collected six nominations and no awards. The true crime category produced the only tie listed.

Nuisance Bear won science and nature from five nominations. John Wilson’s The History of Concrete, Everest: The Other Side, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert and Lion each arrived with four nominations, while Alex Gibney’s four-hour Musk won biography from three nominations. NAZA, the controversial Israel-Gaza war documentary, took political documentary.

The 11th annual ceremony, hosted by Ross Mathews at New York’s Edison Ballroom, added two special honors outside the competitive slate: Ron Howard received the Critics Choice Impact Award and Jehane Noujaim the lifetime-achievement Pennebaker Award.

In a statement, Critics Choice Association vice president for documentaries Christopher Campbell said: “This year’s winners reflect the extraordinary creativity, ambition and innovation shaping documentary filmmaking today.” He described nominees using bold approaches that expanded nonfiction’s reach, work on pressing political and social issues, and filmmakers returning to compelling stories to explore them more deeply, evidence of what he called the form’s limitless possibilities. The association was “thrilled to celebrate the remarkable talent and diverse perspectives that continue to shape the exciting future of documentary filmmaking.”

Winners

• Best documentary feature: You Can See Everything (A24).
• Best director: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, You Can See Everything (A24).
• Best first documentary feature: David Greaves, Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon).
• Best cinematography: David Bolen, You Can See Everything (A24).
• Best editing: Adam Locke-Norton, You Can See Everything (A24).
• Best narration: John Wilson, who wrote and performed The History of Concrete (Magnolia Pictures).
• Best music score: Ari Balouzian, You Can See Everything (A24).
• Best music documentary: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Neon).
• Best political documentary: NAZA (The Guardian / mk2 films).
• Best historical documentary: Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon).
• Best biographical documentary: Musk (Bleecker Street).
• Best archival documentary: Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Neon).
• Best science/nature documentary: Nuisance Bear (Mubi).
• Best sports documentary: Everest: The Other Side (National Geographic Documentary Films).
• Best true crime documentary: The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (Netflix) and Lost Women of Alaska (Investigation Discovery), tied.
• Best short documentary: The Baddest Speechwriter of All (Netflix).
• Best limited documentary series: Lion (National Geographic).
• Best ongoing documentary series: 30 for 30 (ESPN).

What does the sweep change?

For the Academy race, the film already carried a best documentary feature Oscar nomination, while speculation pointed to possible best picture and supporting actress nominations. Five Critics Choice wins give that campaign more support, and nearly $80 million at home gives it more than a niche profile. The Academy’s categories remain separate. A Critics Choice sweep is not an Oscar nomination.