The Grierson Awards are awards set up by The Grierson Trust to recognise innovative and exciting

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

s, created to commemorate the life and work of the pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fl ...

. The inaugural Awards were given in 1972 and since then have occurred annually. In 2000 The Grierson Trust forged a link with the

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

in order to expand the awards and add prestige to the awards. The awards have grown in stature and recognition over the years.

John Grierson

was a leading documentary filmmaker, and he has also been attributed to have coined the name "documentary".

Ann Curthoys Ann Curthoys, (born 5 September 1945) is an Australian historian and academic. Early life and education Curthoys was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 5 September 1945, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney. In 1 ...

, Marilyn Lakebr>Connected worlds: history in transnational perspective, Volume 2004
p.151. Australian National University Press He was born in Scotland in 1898. Grierson was the founder of a new movement of documentary film in the 1930s. He started the

Empire Marketing Board The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...

Film Unit, and in 1933 the GPO Film Unit, gathering together such diverse and exciting talents as

Humphrey Jennings Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organisation. Jennings was described by film critic and director Lindsay Anderson in 19 ...

Paul Rotha Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Career ...

and

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of ...

. His ground-breaking work on the Scottish herring fleet, '' Drifters'', had its premiere in 1929 alongside the first British showing of

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...

’s ''

Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (russian: Бронено́сец «Потёмкин», ''Bronenosets Potyomkin''), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent drama film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by S ...

''. In 1936, he produced the celebrated ''

Night Mail ''Night Mail'' is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit. The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, ...

'', directed by Harry Watt with script by W.H. Auden and score by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Grierson: Sheffields

Sheffield DocFest Sheffield DocFest (formerly styled Sheffield Doc/Fest), short for Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF), is an international documentary festival and Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England. The Festival includes film sc ...

works in conjunction with The Grierson Trust to present Grierson: Sheffield. There are three awards presented by the Grierson Trust, the Green Award, which recognises a documentary exploring environmental issues or that has made a contribution to the climate change debate. The Innovation Award, a documentary that exhibits innovation in format, style, technique or content and The Youth Jury Award. The Youth Jury is a panel of 16- to 21-year-olds that are selected by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and

4Talent Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

Awards

The Grierson Awards are presented annually in a range of categories. In 2022 these were: *Best Single Documentary - Domestic *Best Single Documentary - International *Best Current Affairs Documentary *Best Music Documentary *Best Sports Documentary *Best History Documentary *Best Science Documentary *Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary *Best Entertaining Documentary *Best Constructed Documentary Series *Best Documentary Series *Best Cinema Documentary *Best Student Documentary *Best Documentary Short *Best Documentary Presenter *Grierson Trustees' Award *Grierson Hero of the Year Award

Past winners

Past award winners 1971–present

2015 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - ''

The Paedophile Hunter Stinson Hunter (born Kieren Parsons, 10 October 1981) is a British vigilante who is best known for his role in the documentary ''The Paedophile Hunter''. The film investigating child sexual exploitation Commercial sexual exploitation of chil ...

'', dir: Dan Reed *Best Documentary on Current Affairs - ''Our War: Goodbye Afghanistan'', dir

Rowan Deacon Rowan Deacon (born 1976 or 1977) is an English director and filmmaker. Career Deacon is from Leeds, England. She became involved in the industry in 2000. She produced '' Namesakes A Very British Odyssey'' in 2004 and '' When the Moors Ruled i ...

*Best Arts Documentary - ''

20,000 Days on Earth ''20,000 Days on Earth'' is a 2014 British musical documentary drama film co-written and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Nick Cave also co-wrote the script with Forsyth and Pollard. The film premiered in-competition in the ''Worl ...

'', dir: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard *Best Historical Documentary - ''Our World War: The First Day'', dir: Bruce Goodison *Best Science or Natural History Documentary - ''Curing Cancer'', dir Brian Woods *Best Entertaining Documentary - '' Gogglebox - Episode 6'', dir: Tina Alexander *Best Drama Documentary - ''The Romanians are Coming'', dir

James Bluemel James Bluemel is a television documentary filmmaker. Career The first programme he directed was the three-part documentary ''The Romanians are Coming'', screened on Channel 4 between 17 February and 3 March 2015. Bluemel visited Baia Mare, a tow ...

*Best Cinema Documentary - '' Virunga'', dir

Orlando von Einsiedel Orlando von EinsiedelPeople of Today 2017 / Lucy Hume (born in August 1980) is a British film director. He directs mostly documentary films that investigate global social issues, and has filmed in various places around the world, including Africa ...

*Best Newcomer Documentary - ''The Lost Gold of the Highlands (Garnet’s Gold)'', dir: Ed Perkins *Best Student Documentary - ''The Wolf, The Ship and the Little Green Bag'', dir: Kathryn MacCorgarry Gray *Documentary Presenter of the Year -

Grayson Perry Grayson Perry (born 1960) is an English contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "pre ...

for ''Who Are You?''

2014 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''The Murder Trial'', dir: Nick Holt *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Cutie and the Boxer'', dir: Zachary Heinzerling *The Trustees’ Award - Alex Graham *Best Documentary Series - ''Educating Yorkshire'', dir: David Brindley, Grace Reynold

2013 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Law of the Jungle'', dir: Michael Christoffersen, Hans La Cour *Best Cinema Documentary - ''The House I Live In'', dir: Eugene Jarecki *The Trustees’ Award -

John Battsek John Battsek is a British film producer of documentary films. Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company. In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch cre ...

*Best Documentary Newcomer - ''High Tech, Low Life'', dir: Steve Maing

2012 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Hell and Back Again'', dir: Danfung Dennis *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Bobby Fischer Against the World'', dir: Liz Garbus *The Trustees' Award - Kevin Macdonald

2011 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Secret Iraq - The Insurgency'', dir: Sam Collyns *Best Documentary on the Arts - ''Bird on a Wire'', dir: Tony Palmer *Best Historical Documentary - ''Fire in Babylon'', dir: Stevan Riley *Best Cinema Documentary - ''The Arbor'', dir: Clio Barnard *The Trustees’ Award -

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilger ...

2010 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Moving to Mars'', dir: Mat Whitecross *Best Documentary on the Arts - ''Arena: T.S. Eliot'', dir: Adam Low *Best Historical Documentary - ''Requiem for Detroit'', dir: Julien Temple *The Award for Most Entertaining Documentary - ''Exit Through the Gift Shop'', dir: Banksy *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Mugabe and the White African'', dir: Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson

2009 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Afghan Star'', dir: Havana Marking *Best Documentary on the Arts - ''The Mona Lisa Curse'', dir: Mandy Chang *Best Historical Documentary - ''Thriller in Manila'', dir: John Dower *The Award for Most Entertaining Documentary - ''The Yes Men: Fix the World'', dir: Andy Bichibaum, Mike Bonnano *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Burma VJ'', dir: Anders Østergaard *Trustees' Award - Norma Percy

2008 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''The Lie of the Land'', dir:

Molly Dineen Molly Dineen (born 7 March 1959) is a television documentary director, cinematographer and producer. One of Britain's most acclaimed documentary filmmakers, Molly is known for her intimate and probing portraits of British individuals and instituti ...

*Best Documentary on the Arts - ''Here's Jonny'', dir: Adam Lavis, William Hood, Katrina Mansoor *Best Historical Documentary - ''1983 – The Brink of Apocalypse'', dir: Henry Chancellor *The Award for Most Entertaining Documentary - ''Please Vote for Me'', dir: Weijun Chen, Don Edkins, Mette Heide *Best Drama Documentary - ''Battle for Haditha'', dir: Nick Broomfield *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Joy Division'', dir: Grant Gee

2007 winners

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Rain In My Heart'', dir: Paul Watson *Best Documentary on the Arts - ''Imagine...Who Cares About Art?'', dir: Sam Hobkinson *Best Historical Documentary - ''Hungary 1956: Our Revolution'', dir: Mark Kidel *Best Documentary on Science or the Natural World - ''Monkeys, Rats and Me'', dir: Adam Wishart *The Frontier Post Award for Most Entertaining Documentary - ''Ray Gosling OAP'', dir: Amanda Reilly *Best Drama Documentary - ''Consent'', dir: Katie Baliff *Best Documentary Series - ''Anatomy Of A Crime'', dir: Steph Atkinson *Best Cinema Documentary - ''Deep Water'', dir: Louise Osmond and

Jerry Rothwell Jerry Rothwell is a British documentary filmmaker best known for the award-winning feature docs ''How to Change the World'' (2015), ''Town of Runners'' (2012), ''Donor Unknown'' (2010), ''Heavy Load'' (2008) and ''Deep Water'' (2006). All of his f ...

*Best Newcomer - ''No Man is an Island'', dir: Sonja Linden * Trustees' Award - Paul Watson

2006 winnersThe Grierson Trust: 2006 Awards
Linked 2012-10-16

*Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue - ''Asylum'', dir: Peter Gordon *Best Documentary on the Arts - ''Take That For The Record'', dir: David Notman-Watt *Best Historical Documentary - ''How Vietnam Was Lost (Two Days In October)'', dir:

Robert Kenner Robert Kenner is an American film and television director, producer, and writer. Kenner is best known for directing the film ''Food, Inc''. as well as the films, ''Command and Control'', '' Merchants of Doubt'', and ''When Strangers Click''. K ...

*Best Documentary on Science or the Natural World - ''The Natural World: The Queen Of Trees'', dir: Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble *The Frontier Post Award for Most Entertaining Documentary - ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'': "Prog 3 - Momma Charris", dir: Christine Hall *Best Drama Documentary - ''The Year London Blew Up'', dir: Edmund Coulthard *Best International Cinema Documentary - '' Storyville: Darwin's Nightmare'', dir: Hubert Sauper *Best Newcomer - ''Disabled and Looking For Love'', dir: Clare Richards * Trustees' Award - Mike Salisbury

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
British documentary film awards