Matthew Heineman’s documentary profiling Grammy and Oscar winning musician Jon Batiste and the medical struggles for his wife that have marked trying times in their marriage leads the pack of nominees for the 8th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards with six.
The inspiring docu from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground was picked up by Netflix after premiering and winning acclaim at the Telluride Film Festival last month. Not far behind are a trio of docus each with 5 mentions including 20 Days In Mariupol, Kokomo City, and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
And not to be ignored, this weekend’s boxoffice champ, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour which landed a nomination as Best Music Documentary. The CCDA nod marks the first awards recognition for the film (however it is not eligible for a Documentary Oscar) which only just had its first premiere screening on Wednesday of last week and came in just under the eligibility wire.
It was a big year for docus spotlighting familiar names as films about Mary Tyler Moore, Brooke Shields, Judy Blume, Sylvester Stallone, Carlos Santana, Little Richard, Donna Summer, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Stephen Curry, the 70’s rock group Blood Sweat & Tears, and John LeCarre were among movies popping up in the various categories.
