Ava DuVernay won big at the inaugural Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, held Thursday night in New York. Her Netflix doc, “13th,” won a number of major honors at the ceremony.
“13th” took home the awards for Best Documentary — TV/Streaming, and Best Political Documentary. DuVernay was named Best Director — TV/Streaming. The acclaimed doc, which made its World Premiere at the New York Film Festival, traces the connection between mass incarceration and slavery in the U.S.
When Women and Hollywood asked DuVernay what drove her to explore this subject matter, she said that she’s been thinking about the topic since she was a little girl. “Growing up in Compton, there was a heavy police presence,” she recalled. “I would always see cops on my block. The interactions weren’t positive, as I’d see officers interacting with the citizens in my community. Much more negative encounters than positive, which I think is interesting. She continued, “Most folks in this country who don’t live in black or brown communities regard the cops [with] a sense of safety. Imagine growing up and feeling just the opposite when you see an officer. That’s a real, completely different way to move through the world.”
“Weiner,” co-directed by Elyse Steinberg, received the award for Best First Documentary — Theatrical Feature. The doc is a portrait of New York politician Anthony Weiner, who, at the time of filming, was struggling to rebuild his career in the aftermath of a sex scandal, and running for mayor of New York. “We see this film as about more than just one person or one campaign — it provides a look at how politics today is driven by entertainment and spectacle,” Steinberg explained to Women and Hollywood. “I am always thrilled when people identify some of those larger themes in our film and can see how relevant they are today, especially to our current presidential race.”
Deborah Esquenazi’s “Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four” tied for Best First Documentary — TV/ Streaming. The film centers on four Latina lesbians who were wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio. Esquenazi told Women and Hollywood that the doc “is fast-paced with several plot twists. And while “a lot unfolds in this emotional film,” she emphasized that she hopes viewers “will catch some of the underlying mythologies and intersectional themes that play out underneath it all, particularly in the way in which the women were portrayed by overzealous prosecutors and how they were represented during a cultural hysteria — the Satanic sexual abuse panic of the ’80s and ’90s.”
Barbara Kopple’s “Miss Sharon Jones!” was recognized for featuring the Best Song in a Documentary, “I’m Still Here” by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. You can listen to the song here.
“Unlocking the Cage” co-director Chris Hegedus received a Lifetime Achievement Award, sharing in the honor with D.A. Pennebaker, her longtime collaborator and husband.
The awards were voted by members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
Check out a list of female winners below. List adapted from Variety.
Best Documentary — TV/Streaming
“13th”
Best Director — TV/Streaming
Ava DuVernay (“13th”)
Best First Documentary — Theatrical Feature
Elyse Steinberg (and Jack Kriegman), (“Weiner”)
Best First Documentary — TV/Streaming
Tie: Deborah Esquenazi (“Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”)
Best Political Documentary
“13th”
Best Song in a Documentary
“I’m Still Here” from “Miss Sharon Jones!”
Lifetime Achievement Award
Chris Hegedus (and D.A. Pennebaker)
