Articolo pubblicato il 4 Marzo 2025 da Gabriele Maccauro

Nonostante venga spesso e volentieri considerato come un riconoscimento secondario, quello al miglior documentario è in verità un premio di assoluto spessore tra quelli che ogni anno assegna la Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences e che merita di certo una menzione. Istituita nel 1943, la categoria si è aperta col tempo a sempre più paesi ed è ben presto divenuta una delle principali ad essere riconosciute durante l’annuale cerimonia degli Oscar. A seguire, segnalati in grassetto, tutti i vincitori dell’Oscar per il miglior documentario nella storia dell’Academy.

Tutti i vincitori dell’Oscar per il miglior documentario nella storia

Vengono indicati di seguito tutti i registi in grado di vincere il premio Oscar per il miglior documentario nella storia, con annessi film e candidati:

1943

• La Battaglia delle Midway – John Ford (Ex Aequo)
• Kokoda Front Line! – Ken G. Hall (Ex Aequo)
• Razgrom Nemetskikh Voysk Pod Moskvoy – Ilya Kopalin, Leonid Varlamov (Ex Aequo)
• Preludio alla Guerra – Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak (Ex Aequo)
• Africa, Prelude To Victory
• We Refuse To Die – William H. Pine
• Conquer By The Clock – Frederic Ullman Jr.
• The Grain That Built A Hemisphere
• Henry Browne, Farmer – Roger Barlow
• High Over The Borders – Raymond Spottiswoode
• Little Belgium
• High Stakes In The East
• Inside Fighting China – Stuart Legg
• Winning Your Wings – Owen Crump
• It’S Everybody’s War – Will Price
• Listen To Britain – Humphrey Jennings, Stewart Mcallister
• Combat Report
• Little Isles Of Freedom – Victor Stoloff
• The New Spirit
• Mr. Blabbermouth! – Basil Wrangell
• A Ship Is Born – Jean Negulesco
• Twenty-One Miles
• Mr. Gardenia Jones – George B. Seitz
• The White Eagle – Eugeniusz Cekalski
• The Price Of Victory – William H. Pine

1944

• Desert Victory – Roy Boulting
• Baptism Of Fire – Prodotto Dall’Esercito Degli Stati Uniti D’America
• La Battaglia Di Russia – Frank Capra E Anatole Litvak
• Report From The Aleutians – John Huston
• War Department Report – Oliver Lundquist

1945

• La Grande Combattente – Edward Steichen
• Resisting Enemy Interrogation – Harold Medford

1946

• La Vera Gloria – Garson Kanin
• The Last Bomb – Frank Lloyd

1947

• Non Assegnato

1948

• Design For Death – Richard Fleischer
• Journey Into Medicine – Prodotto Dal Dipartimento Di Stato Degli Stati Uniti D’America
• The World Is Rich – Paul Rotha

1949

• The Secret Land – Orville O. Dull
• L’Escluso – Sidney Meyers

1950

• Daybreak In Udi – Terry Bishop
• Kenji Comes Home – Paul F. Heard

1951

• Il Titano, Storia Di Michelangelo – Robert J. Flaherty E Richard Lyford
• With These Hands – Jack Arnold

1952

• Kon-Tiki – Thor Heyerdahl
• I Was A Communist For The F.B.I. – Gordon Douglas

1953

• Il Mare Intorno A Noi – Irwin Allen
• The Hoaxters – Herman Hoffman
• Navajo – Norman Foster

1954

• Deserto Che Vive – James Algar
• The Conquest Of Everest – George Lowe
• A Queen Is Crowned – Christopher Fry

1955

• La Grande Prateria – James Algar
• The Stratford Adventure – Morten Parker

1956

• Helen Keller In Her Story – Nancy Hamilton
• Heartbreak Ridge – Jacques Dupont

1957

• Il Mondo Del Silenzio – Jacques-Yves Cousteau
• The Naked Eye – Louis Clyde Stoumen
• Where Mountains Float – Bjarne Henning-Jensen

1958

• Albert Schweitzer – Jerome Hill
• Sulla Bowery – Lionel Rogosin
• Torero! – Carlos Velo

1959

• Artico Selvaggio – James Algar
• The Hidden World – Robert Snyder
• Psychiatric Nursing – Lee R. Bobker
• Antarctic Crossing – George Lowe

1960

• Serengeti Non Morirà – Bernhard Grzimek
• The Race For Space – David L. Wolper

1961

• Il Cavallo Volante – Larry Lansburgh
• Rebel In Paradise – Robert D. Fraser

1962

• Le Ciel Et La Boue – Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau
• La Grande Olimpiade – Romolo Marcellini

1963

• Black Fox – Louis Clyde Stoumen
• Alvorada – Hugo Niebeling

1964

• Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel With The World – Shirley Clarke
• Le Maillon Et La Chaine – Jacques Ertaud E Bernard Gorki
• Terminus – John Schlesinger
• The Yanks Are Coming – Marshall Flaum

1965

• Il Mondo Senza Sole – Jacques-Yves Cousteau
• The Finest Hours – Peter Baylis
• Quei Quattro Giorni Di Novembre – Mel Stuart
• The Human Dutch – Bert Haanstra
• Over There, 1914-18 – Jean Aurel

1966

• The Eleanor Roosevelt Story – Richard Kaplan
• The Battle Of The Bulge…The Brave Rifles – Laurence E. Mascott
• The Forth Road Bridge – Gordon Lang
• Let My People Go – John Krish
• Morire A Madrid – Frédéric Rossif

1967

• The War Game – Peter Watkins
• The Face Of A Genius – Alfred R. Kelman
• Helicopter Canada – Eugene Boyko
• Le Volcan Interdit – Haroun Tazieff
• The Really Big Family – Alexander Grasshoff

1968

• La Section Anderson – Pierre Schoendoerffer
• Festival – Murray Lerner
• Harvest – Carroll Ballard
• A King’s Story – Harry Booth
• A Time For Burning – William C. Jersey

1969

• Journey Into Self – Bill Mcgaw
• A Few Notes On Our Food Problem – James Blue
• Legendary Champions – Harry Chapin
• Other Voices – David H. Sawyer
• Young Americans – Alexander Grasshoff

1970

• L’Amour De La Vie – Artur Rubinstein – Gérard Patris, François Reichenbach
• Before The Mountain Was Moved – Robert K. Sharpe
• In The Year Of The Pig – Emile De Antonio
• Giochi Olimpici – Alberto Isaac
• The Wolf Men – Irwin Rosten

1971

• Woodstock – Michael Wadleigh
• Gli Extraterrestri Torneranno – Harald Reinl
• Jack Johnson – Alan Bodian
• King – Una Testimonianza Filmata… Da Montgomery A Memphis – Sidney Lumet E Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Say Goodbye – David H. Vowell

1972

• La Cronaca Di Hellstrom – Walon Green E Ed Spiegel
• Alaska Wilderness Lake – Alan Landsburg
• Il Rally Dei Campioni – Bruce Brown
• The Ra Expeditions – Lennart Ehrenborg E Thor Eyerdahl
• Le Chagrin E La Pitié – Marcel Ophüls

1973

• Marjoe – Sarah Kernochan E Howard Smith
• La Foresta Che Vive – Bert Haanstra
• Malcolm X – Arnold Perl
• Manson E La Famiglia Di Satana – Robert Hendrickson E Laurence Merrick
• The Silent Revolution – Edouard De Laurot

1974

• Il Cowboy Del Grande Rodeo – Kieth Merrill
• Always A New Beginning – John D. Goodell
• Schlacht Um Berlin – Franz Baake
• Journey To The Outer Limits – Alexander Grasshoff
• Walls Of Fire – Herbert Kline E Edmund Penney

1975

• Hearts And Minds – Peter Davis
• Antonia: A Portrait Of The Woman – Jill Godmilow
• The Challenge…A Tribute To Modern Art – Herbert Kline
• The 81St Blow – David Bergman E Jacques Ehrlich
• The Wild And The Brave – Eugene S. Jones

1976

• The Man Who Skied Down Everest – Bruce Nyznik E Lawrence Schiller
• Fighting For Our Lives – Glen Pearcy
• The Incredible Machine – Irwin Rosten E Ed Spiegel
• The California Reich – Keith Critchlow E Walter F. Parkes
• The Other Half Of The Sky: A China Memoir – Shirley Maclaine E Claudia Weill

1977

• Harlan County, Usa – Barbara Kopple
• Hollywood On Trial – David Helpern
• Off The Edge – Michael Firth
• People Of The Wind – Anthony Howarth
• Volcano: An Inquiry Into The Life And Death Of Malcolm Lowry – Donald Brittain E John Kramer

1978

• Who Are The Debolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? – John Korty
• I Ragazzi Dell’Opera – Robert Dornhelm E Earle Mack
• High Grass Circus – Tony Ianzelo E Torben Schioler
• Homage To Chagall – The Colours Of Love – Harry Rasky
• Union Maids – Jim Klein E Miles Mogulescu

1979

• Scared Straight! – Arnold Shapiro
• Le Vent Des Amoureux – Albert Lamorisse
• Mysterious Castles Of Clay – Alan Root
• Raoni – Jean-Pierre Dutilleux E Luiz Carlos Saldanha
• With Babies And Banners: Story Of The Women’S Emergency Brigade – Anne Bohlen

1980

• Best Boy – Ira Wohl
• Generation On The Wind – David A. Vassar
• Going The Distance – Paul Cowan
• The Killing Ground – Steve Singer E Tom Priestley
• The War At Home – Glenn Silber E Barry Alexander Brown

1981

• From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern In China – Murray Lerner
• Agee – Ross Spears
• The Day After Trinity – Jon Else
• Front Line – David Bradbury
• The Yellow Star – The Persecution Of The Jews In Europe 1933-45 – Dieter Hildebrandt

1982

• Genocide – Arnold Schwartzman
• El Salvador: Another Vietnam – Glenn Silber E Teté Vasconcellos
• Against Wind And Tide: A Cuban Odyssey – John Brousek
• Eight Minutes To Midnight: A Portrait Of Dr. Helen Caldicott – Mary Benjamin
• Brooklyn Bridge – Ken Burns

1983

• Just Another Missing Kid – John Zaritsky
• Ben’s Mill – Michel Chalufour E John Karol
• In Our Water – Meg Switzgable
• After The Axe – Sturla Gunnarsonn
• A Portrait Of Giselle – Joseph Wishy

1984

• He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ – Emile Ardolino
• Children Of Darkness – Richard Kotuk E Ara Chekmayan
• First Contact – Robin Anderson E Bob Connolly
• The Profession Of Arms – Michael Bryans E Tina Viljoen
• Seeing Red – Jim Klein E Julia Reichert

1985

• The Times Of Harvey Milk – Rob Epstein
• High Schools – Charles Guggenheim E Nancy Sloss
• In The Name Of The People – Frank Christopher
• Marlene – Maximilian Schell
• Streetwise – Martin Bell

1986

• Broken Rainbow – Maria Florio E Victoria Mudd
• Las Madres De La Plaza De Mayo – Susana Blaunstein Munoz E Lourdes Portillo
• Soldiers In Hiding – Malcolm Clarke
• The Statue Of Liberty – Ken Burns
• Unfinished Business – Steven Okazaki

1987

• Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’Ve Got (Ex Aequo) – Brigitte Berman
• Down And Out In America (Ex Aequo) – Lee Grant
• Chile: Hasta Cuando? – David Bradbury
• Isaac In America: A Journey With Isaac Bashevis Singer – Amran Nowak
• Witness To Apartheid – Kevin Harris E Sharon I. Shoper

1988

• The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit And Legend Of The Algonquin Round Table – Aviva Slesin
• A Stitch For Time – Barbara Herbich E Cyril Christo
• Radio Bikini – Robert Stone
• Hellfire: A Journey From Hiroshima – Michael Camerini E John Junkerman
• Eyes On The Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years/Bridge To Freedom 1965 -Harry Hampton

1989

• Hôtel Terminus – Marcel Ophüls
• The Cry Of Reason – Beyers Naude: An Afrikaner Speaks Out – Robert Bilheimer
• Let’s Get Lost – Perdiamoci – Bruce Weber
• Promises To Keep – Ginny Durrin
• Who Killed Vincent Chin? – Christine Choy E Renee Tajima-Pena

1990

• Common Threads – Rob Epstein E Jeffrey Friedman
• Adam Clayton Powell – Richard Kilberg
• Crack Usa: County Under Siege – Vince Dipersio E Bill Guttentag
• For All Mankind – Al Reinert
• Super Chief: The Life And Legacy Of Earl Warren – Bill Jersey

1991

• American Dream – Cathy Caplan E Thomas Haneke
• Berkeley In The Sixties – Mark Kitchell
• Building Bombs – Mark Mori E Susan Robinson
• Forever Activists: Stories From The Veterans Of The Abraham Lincoln Brigade – Judith Montell
• Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter’S Journey – Eugene Corr E Robert Hillmann

1992

• In The Shadow Of The Stars – Allie Light E Irving Saraf
• Death On The Job – Vince Dipersio E Bill Guttentag
• Doing Time: Life Inside The Big House – Alan Raymond
• The Restless Conscience – Hava Kohav Beller
• Wild By Law – Lawrence Hott

1993

• The Panama Deception – Barbara Trent
• Changing Our Minds: The Story Of Dr. Evelyn Hooker – Richard Schmiechen
• Fires Of Kuwait – David Douglas
• Liberators: Fighting On Two Fronts In World War II – William Miles E Nina Rosenblum
• Music For The Movies: Bernard Herrmann – Joshua Waletzky

1994

• I Am A Promise: The Children Of Stanton Elementary School – Susan Raymond
• The Broadcast Tapes Of Dr. Peter – David Paperny
• Children Of Fate: Life And Death In A Sicilian Family – Michael Roemer, Susan Todd, Andrew Young E Robert M. Young
• For Better Or For Worse – David Collier
• The War Room – Chris Hegedus E D. A. Pennebaker

1995

• Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision – Freida Lee Mock
• Complaints Of A Dutiful Daughter – Deborah Hoffmann
• D-Day Remembered – Charles Guggenheim
• Freedom On My Mind – Connie Field E Marilyn Mulford
• A Great Day In Harlem – Jean Bach

1996

• Anne Frank Remembered – Jon Blair
• The Battle Over Citizen Kane – La Sfida Che Segnò La Storia Del Cinema – Michael Epstein E Thomas Lennon
• Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream – Michael Tollin
• Piccole Meraviglie – Allan Miller E Lana Miller
• Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern – Steven Ascher E Jeanne Jordan

1997

• Quando Eravamo Re – Leon Gast
• The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story – Susan Warms Dryfoos
• Mandela – Angus Gibson E Jo Menell
• Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse – Anne Belle E Deborah Dickson
• Tell The Truth And Run: George Seldes And The American Press – Rick Goldsmith

1998

• The Long Way Home – Mark Jonathan Harris
• 4 Little Girls – Spike Lee
• Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life – Michael Paxton
• Colors Straight Up – Michèle Ohayon
• Waco: The Rules Of Engagement – William Gazecki

1999

• Gli Ultimi Giorni – James Moll
• Dancemaker – Matthew Diamond
• The Farm: Angola, Usa – Liz Garbus, Wilbert Rideau, Jonathan Stack
• Lenny Bruce: Swear To Tell The Truth – Robert B. Weide
• Regret To Inform – Barbara Sonneborn

2000

• Un Giorno A Settembre – Kevin Macdonald
• Buena Vista Social Club – Wim Wenders
• Genghis Blues – Roko Belic
• On The Ropes – Nanette Burstein E Brett Morgen
• Speaking In Strings – Paola Di Florio

2001

• La Fuga Degli Angeli – Storie Del Kindertransport – Mark Jonathan Harris
• Legacy – Tod Lending
• Long Night’S Journey Into Day – Deborah Hoffmann E Frances Reid
• Scottsboro: An American Tragedy – Daniel Anker E Barak Goodman
• Sound And Fury – Josh Aronson

2002

• Un Coupable Idéal – Jean-Xavier De Lestrade
• Children Underground – Edet Belzberg
• Lalee’S Kin: The Legacy Of Cotton – Deborah Dickson, Susan FröMke E Albert Maysles
• Promesse – Carlos Bolado, B.Z. Goldberg E Justine Shapiro
• War Photographer – Christian Frei

2003

• Bowling A Columbine – Michael Moore
• Daughter From Danang – Gail Dolgin E Vicente Franco
• Prisoner Of Paradise – Malcolm Clarke E Stuart Sender
• Spellbound – Jeffrey Blitz
• Il Popolo Migratore – Jacques Perrin

2004

• The Fog Of War – La Guerra Secondo Robert Mcnamara – Errol Morris
• Balseros – Carlos Bosch, José María Doménech
• Una Storia Americana – Capturing The Friedmans – Andrew Jarecki
• My Architect – Il Viaggio Di Un Figlio – Nathaniel Kahn
• The Weather Underground – Sam Green, Bill Siegel

2005

• Born Into Brothels – Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman
• La Storia Del Cammello Che Piange – Luigi Falorni E Davaa Bâmbasürėn
• Super Size Me – Morgan Spurlock
• Tupac: Resurrection – Lauren Lazin
• Twist Of Faith – Kirby Dick

2006

• La Marcia Dei Pinguini – Luc Jacquet
• L’Incubo Di Darwin – Hubert Sauper
• Enron – L’Economia Della Truffa – Alex Gibney
• Murderball – Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
• Street Fight – Marshall Curry

2007

• Una Scomoda Verità – Davis Guggenheim
• Deliver Us From Evil – Amy Berg
• Iraq In Fragments – James Longley
• Jesus Camp – Heidi Ewing E Rachel Grady
• My Country My Country – Laura Poitras

2008

• Taxi To The Dark Side – Alex Gibney
• No End In Sight – Charles Ferguson
• Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience – Richard E. Robbins
• Sicko – Michael Moore
• War Dance – Sean Fine, Andrea Nix

2009

• Man On Wire – Un Uomo Tra Le Torri – James Marsh
• The Betrayal – Nerakhoon – Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath
• Encounters At The End Of The World – Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser
• The Garden – Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Trouble The Water – Tia Lessin, Carl Deal

2010

• The Cove – La Baia Dove Muoiono I Delfini – Louie Psihoyos
• Burma Vj – Cronache Da Un Paese Blindato – Anders Østergaard E Lise Lense-Møller
• Food, Inc. – Robert Kenner E Elise Pearlstein
• The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers – Judith Ehrlich E Rick Goldsmith
• Which Way Home – Rebecca Cammisa

2011

• Inside Job – Charles Ferguson
• Exit Through The Gift Shop – Banksy
• Gasland – Josh Fox
• Restrepo – Inferno In Afghanistan – Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
• Waste Land – Lucy Walker

2012

• Undefeated – T. J. Martin, Dan Lindsay, Richard Middlemas
• Hell And Back Again – Danfung Dennis, Mike Lerner
• If A Tree Falls – Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory – Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
• Pina – Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel

2013

• Searching For Sugar Man – Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
• 5 Broken Cameras, Regia Di Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
• The Gatekeepers – I Guardiani Di Israele – Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky, Estelle Fialon
• Aids – Cronaca Di Una Rivoluzione – David France, Howard Gertler
• The Invisible War – Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering

2014

• 20 Feet From Stardom – Morgan Neville
• L’Atto Di Uccidere – Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge SøRensen
• Cutie And The Boxer – Zachary Heinzerling, Lydia Dean Pilcher
• Dirty Wars – Richard Rowley, Jeremy Scahill
• The Square – Dentro La Rivoluzione – Jehane Noujaim

2015

• Citizenfour – Laura Poitras
• Alla Ricerca Di Vivian Maier – John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
• Last Days In Vietnam – Rory Kennedy
• Il Sale Della Terra – Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders
• Virunga – Orlando Von Einsiedel

2016

• Amy – Asif Kapadia
• Cartel Land – Matthew Heineman
• The Look Of Silence – Joshua Oppenheimer
• What Happened, Miss Simone? – Liz Garbus
• Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom – Evgeny Afineevsky

2017

• O.J.: Made In America – Ezra Edelman
• Fuocoammare – Gianfranco Rosi
• I Am Not Your Negro – Raoul Peck
• Life, Animated – Roger Ross Williams
• XIII Emendamento – Ava Duvernay

2018

• Icarus – Bryan Fogel
• Abacus: Small Enough To Jail – Steve James
• Last Man In Aleppo – Feras Fayyad
• Strong Island – Yance Ford
• Visages Villages – Agnès Varda, Jr

2019

• Free Solo – Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening – Ramell Ross
• Minding The Gap – Bing Liu
• Of Fathers And Sons – Talal Derki
• Alla Corte Di Ruth – Rbg – Betsy West E Julie Cohen

2020

• Made In Usa – Una Fabbrica In Ohio – Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
• The Cave – L’Ospedale Nel Bunker – Feras Fayyad
• Democrazia Al Limite – Petra Costa
• Alla Mia Piccola Sama – Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
• Honeyland – Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov

2021

• Il Mio Amico In Fondo Al Mare – Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, Craig Foster
• Collective – Alexander Nanau, Bianca Oana
• Crip Camp – Disabilità Rivoluzionarie – Nicole Newnham, Jim Lebrecht, Sara Bolder
• The Mole Agent – Maite Alberdi, Marcela Santibáñez
• Time – Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn

2022

• Summer Of Soul – Questlove, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein
• Ascension – Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell
• Attica – Stanley Nelson, Traci A. Curry
• Flee – Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Charlotte De La Gournerie
• Writing With Fire – Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh

2023

• Navalny – Daniel Roher
• All That Breathes – Shaunak Sen
• All The Beauty And The Bloodshed – Laura Poitras
• Fire Of Love – Sara Dosa
• A House Made Of Splinters – Simon Lereng Wilmont

2024

• 20 Days In Mariupol – Mstyslav Černov
• Bobi Wine: The People’s President – Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp
• The Eternal Memory – Maite Alberdi
• Four Daughters – Kaouther Ben Hania
• To Kill A Tiger – Nisha Pahuja

2025

• No Other Land – Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
• Black Box Diaries – Shiori Itō
• Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leont’jev
• Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat – Johan Grimonprez
• Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie