Nominations

Categories

• Deluxe 142 Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - Domestic
• Shell Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - International
• Bridgeman Art Library Best Documentary on the Arts
• ITN Source Best Historical Documentary
• Televisual Best Science Documentary
• Current Most Entertaining Documentary
• ENVY Best Documentary Series
• DocHouse & The Bertha Foundation Best Cinema Documentary
• CTVC Best Newcomer Documentary
• Sky Arts Best Student Documentary

Nominations

Deluxe 142 Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - Domestic

• 23 Week Babies: The Price of Life

  

  Director:

  Adam Wishart

  Executive Producer:

  Julian Mercer

  Production company:

  BBC Bristol Factual

  First UK screening:

  9 March 2011; BBC Two

  The science writer, Adam Wishart, explores the British policy of resuscitating extremely premature babies. For those born in the 23rd week he reveals alarming statistics that question whether the policy is humane and cost-effective. In Holland, such babies are left to die. In this country, Adam argues, we should either revive fewer babies or ensure that there is sufficient provision to care for them throughout their ensuing lives.

• Battle for Barking

  

  Director:

  Laura Fairrie

  Production company:

  Dartmouth Films Ltd

  First UK screening:

  30 November 2010; More 4

  Laura Fairrie's film records an historic moment in British politics through the microcosm of one East London constituency. Long-standing Labour MP Margaret Hodge is running against Nick Griffin, the British National Party leader. Griffin is a controversial figure, with a conviction for inciting racial hatred, who nonetheless commands considerable support. Battle for Barking gives a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the 'BNP family' and the working class disillusionment with the Labour party that fuelled the BNP campaign, offering an honest, moving and humorous portrait of a white working class community forced to face the changes brought by new immigrant populations.

• Between Life and Death

  

  Director/producer:

  Nick Holt

  Executive Producer:

  Meredith Chambers

  Production company:

  BBC Wales

  First UK screening:

  13 July 2010; BBC One

  This film follows three extraordinary cases highlighting some of the most complex ethical dilemmas facing medicine today. Filmed in the UK’s leading critical care unit (Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge) this observational documentary looks at the three patients who, without immediate medical intervention, would all have died at the scene of their accidents.

• Shed Your Tears and Walk Away

  

  Director:

  Jez Lewis

  Producer:

  Rachel Wexler

  Executive Producers:

  Nick Broomfield, John Marshall

  Production company:

  Bungalow Town Productions

  First UK screening:

  9 June 2010; General theatrical release

  A real-life drama about why, in the beautiful and quirky rural town of Hebden Bridge, filmmaker Jez Lewis' childhood friends are killing themselves. Beginning with a personal quest for understanding, the film moves into a year-long drama of human tragedy and redemption as principal character Cass comes to terms with his own mortality and attempts to lift himself out of his cycle of self-destruction.

Shell Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme - International

• Donor Unknown

  

  Director:

  Jerry Rothwell

  Producers:

  Al Morrow, Hilary Durman

  Executive Producers:

  Jonny Persey, Jim Butterworth,Daniel J Chalfen

  Production company:

  Met Film, Redbird, More4, Arte GEIE

  First UK screening:

  5 November 2010; Sheffield Doc/Fest

  Donor Unknown follows the story of JoEllen, as she goes in search of the sperm donor father she only knows as Donor 150. JoEllen manages to track down a half-sister in New York. The New York Times picks up the story, and 12 more half-siblings emerge across the USA. The article also falls into the hands of Jeffrey Harrison. In the 1980s, Jeffrey supplemented his income by becoming a sperm donor. His number was Donor 150.

• Secret Iraq - The Insurgency

  

  Director:

  Sam Collyns

  Producers:

  James Jones, Sam Collyns

  Executive Producer:

  Eamonn Matthews

  Production company:

  Quicksilver Media

  First UK screening:

  29 September 2010; BBC Two

  This two-part series tells the story of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. To gather testimony, the team filmed with key Iraqi insurgents who spoke for the first time about their operations against coalition forces. They filmed with Iraqi politicians, tribal leaders and civilians, as well as American and British soldiers, diplomats, hostages and spies. What emerges is a very different history to that related by politicians in London and Washington.

• Storyville: Marathon Boy

  

  Director:

  Gemma Atwal

  Producers:

  Gemma Atlwal, Matt Norman

  Executive Producers:

  Alan Hayling, Nick Fraser

  Production company:

  One Horse Town, Renegade Pictures (UK) Ltd

  First UK screening:

  16 March 2011; BBC Four

  The story of the youngest marathon runner ever. Following Budhia's roller-coaster journey over five years, Marathon Boy is a Dickensian tale of greed, corruption and broken dreams set between the poverty-stricken slums, and the political intrigue of a modernizing India. Nothing is what it seems in this riveting story and Atwal continually shifts viewer identification to tell both a shocking story of opportunism and exploitation, but also a touching portrait of an authentic bond between a foster father and a child.

• The War You Don’t See

  

  Directors:

  John Pilger, Alan Lowery

  Producer:

  John Pilger

  Executive Producer:

  Christopher Hird

  Writer:

  John Pilger

  Production company:

  Dartmouth Films Ltd

  First UK screening:

  13 December 2010; Picture House Cinemas

  A powerful and timely investigation into the media’s role in war. The film traces the history of ‘embedded’ and independent reporting from the carnage of World War I to the destruction of Hiroshima, and from the invasion of Vietnam to the current war in Afghanistan. As weapons and propaganda are ever more sophisticated, the very nature of war has developed into an ‘electronic battlefield’ But who is the real enemy today?

Bridgeman Art Library Best Documentary on the Arts

• Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (episode 1)

  

  Director:

  Rob Farquhar

  Producer:

  Alice Mayhall

  Executive Producers:

  Clive Tulloh, Southan Morris, Clare Paterson

  Series Producer:

  Rob Farquhar

  Production company:

  Tiger Aspect Productions

  First UK screening:

  8 March 2011; BBC Four

  With unique access, this film follows one of the world's most respected art institutions over a tough and dramatic year, as it produces Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall. Told through the eyes of the very people who make this challenging art form beautiful, this is the painful truth of dancers’ lives. Choreographer Derek Deane demands absolute perfection, the dancers are under excruciating pressure to meet his high standards.

• Bird on a Wire

  

  Director/producer:

  Tony Palmer

  Executive Producer:

  Steven Machat

  Production company:

  Isolde Films, The Machat Company

  First UK screening:

  19 November 2010; BBC Four

  The 1972 European tour of singer/poet Leonard Cohen. This film was believed completely lost, but was rescued by chance in 2010 from almost 3,000 fragments and finally broadcast almost 38 years after its original edit. Filmed throughout Europe when Cohen was at the height of his powers, this film is an intimate portrait of an extraordinary artist and his beliefs.

• Elgar - The Man Behind the Mask

  

  Director:

  John Bridcut

  Executive Producer:

  Fiona Morris

  Writer:

  John Bridcut

  Production company:

  Crux Productions, Prospect Pictures

  First UK screening:

  12 November 2010; BBC Four

  The composer of Land of Hope and Glory is often regarded as the quintessential English gentleman, but Edward Elgar's image of hearty nobility was deliberately contrived. In reality, he was the son of a shopkeeper, who was awkward, nervous, self-pitying and often rude, while his marriage to his devoted wife Alice was complicated by romantic entanglements which fired his creative energy.

• The Trouble with Tolstoy

  

  Director/Producer:

  Rupert Edwards

  Executive Producer:

  Ross Wilson, Fiona Morris

  Writer:

  Alan Yentob

  Production company:

  Matchlight

  First UK screening:

  27 March 2011; BBC One

  In this two-part Imagine documentary, especially commissioned as part of the BBC's Year of Books, Alan Yentob examines the life and times of the renowned novelist Leo Tolstoy, to reveal a difficult, restless, ferociously brilliant man with an appetite for causing trouble - for himself, for his family and for the world around him.

ITN Source Best Historical Documentary

• The Day John Lennon Died

  

  Director:

  Michael Waldman

  Producers:

  Michael Waldman, Lorraine McKechnie

  Executive Producer:

  Sue Summers

  Production company:

  Finestripe Productions

  First shown:

  6 December 2010; ITV1

  On 8 December 2010, it was 30 years since John Lennon died. This film marked that watershed moment in our recent history, a moment as significant as the deaths of Kennedy or Diana. It tells the story of John’s last day through those with whom he came into contact, from his widow, Yoko Ono Lennon, to the fan who took the famous final photograph of John with his killer and the doctor who battled to save his life.

• Fire in Babylon

  

  Director:

  Stevan Riley

  Producers:

  John Battsek, Charles Steel

  Executive Producers:

  Ben Goldsmith, Ben Elliot

  Writer:

  Stevan Riley

  Production company:

  E & G Productions, H & H Productions, Cowboy Films, Passion Pictures.

  First shown:

  1 October 2010; London Film Festival

  Fire In Babylon is the breathtaking story of how the West Indies triumphed over its colonial masters through the achievements of one of the most gifted teams in sporting history. In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa; race riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers, led by the enigmatic Viv Richards, struck a defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice worldwide. Their undisputed skill, combined with a fearless spirit, allowed them to dominate the genteel game at the highest level, replaying it on their own terms.

• My Perestroika

  

  Director:

  Robin Hessman

  Producers:

  Robin Hessman, Rachel Wexler

  Executive Producers:

  Simon Klimurry, Sally Jo Fifer

  Production company:

  Red Square Productiona, Bungalow Town Productions, ITVS International, American Documentary/POV & YLE

  First shown:

  5 November 2010; Sheffield Doc/Fest

  My Perestroika follows five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times – from sheltered Soviet childhoods, to the collapse of the USSR during adolescence, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Using a wealth of footage rarely seen outside of Russia, My Perestroika combines an intimate view of the past with the contemporary lives of former schoolmates, painting a complex picture of the dreams and disillusionment of those raised behind the Iron Curtain.

• Operation Mincemeat

  

  Director:

  Russell England

  Producer:

  Stephen Walker

  Executive Producer:

  Sally George

  Writers:

  Ben Macintyre, Stephen Walker

  Production company:

  Walker George Films Ltd

  First shown:

  5 December 2010; BBC Two

  For more than 60 years, the true story behind Operation Mincemeat has been shrouded in secrecy. Now, best-selling author and Times columnist Ben Macintyre reveals how a remarkable team of British secret agents and a dead Welsh tramp managed to fool Hitler in the most successful deception of the Second World War.

Televisual Best Science Documentary

• The Joy of Stats

  

  Director/producer:

  Dan Hillman

  Executive Producers:

  Archie Baron, Cassian Harrison

  Production company:

  Wingspan Productions

  First shown:

  7 December 2010; BBC Four

  A rollercoaster-ride through the wonderful world of statistics, presented by Swedish superstar boffin and internet legend Professor Hans Rosling. The film entertainingly explores the history of statistics, how stats works mathematically and how, in our data deluge age, statistics is changing the way science itself is being conducted. In one spectacular section he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years in just four minutes – using 120,000 numbers.

• Nothing

  

  Director/producer:

  Nic Stacey

  Executive Producer:

  Paul Sen

  Writer:

  Nic Stacey

  Production company:

  Furnace Ltd

  First shown:

  28 March 2011; BBC Four

  Nothing explores science at the very limits of human perception, a place where the deepest mysteries of the universe lie. Over sixty minutes Professor Jim Al-Kahlili sets out to answer one very simple question - what is nothing? His journey ends with perhaps the most profound insight about reality that humanity has ever made. Everything came from nothing. The quantum world of the super-small shaped the vast universe we inhabit today.

• Polar Bear - Spy on the Ice

  

  Director:

  John Downer

  Producer:

  Philip Dalton

  Executive Producer:

  John Downer

  Writers:

  Philip Dalton, John Downer

  Production company:

  John Downer Productions

  First shown:

  29 December 2010; BBC One

  Shot mainly by covert spy-cameras on the Arctic islands of Svalbard, this film gets closer than ever before to the world’s greatest land predator. The cameras follow the bears as they hunt seals, raid bird colonies, dive for kelp and indulge in entertaining courtship rituals. As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bear’s lives, it reveals how the polar bear’s intelligence and curiosity help it cope in a world of shrinking ice.

• Wonders of the Universe - Destiny

  

  Director/producer:

  Stephen Cooter

  Executive Producer:

  Jonathan Renouf

  Series Producer:

  James Van Der Pool

  Production company:

  BBC Vision Productions, The Discovery Channel

  First shown:

  6 March 2011; BBC Two

  Having explored the wonders of the solar system, Professor Brian Cox steps boldly on to an even bigger stage – the universe. Who are we? Where do we come from? For thousands of years humanity has turned to religion and myth for answers to these enduring questions. But in this series, Brian presents a different set of answers – answers provided by science.

Current Most Entertaining Documentary

• Bodysnatchers of New York

  

  Director:

  Toby Dye

  Producers:

  Toby Dye, Denise Castelli, Edmond Buckley

  Executive Producers:

  Graham Ebbs, Denise Castelli

  Production company:

  Bearkatt Productions

  First shown:

  26 October 2010; More 4

  Highly cinematic documentary charting a macabre mystery that unfolds as the lives of a handful of starkly different, seemingly unconnected characters are intimately drawn together by a shocking crime involving over a thousand mutilated corpses in a tale of twenty-first century bodysnatching in the city of New York.

• High Society Brides

  

  Director:

  Hannah Berryman

  Executive Producer:

  Katie Buchanan

  Series Producer:

  Nick Mirsky

  Production company:

  KEO Films

  First shown:

  20 October 2010; BBC Two

  Nothing marks out a life that seems to be destined for wealth and privilege as sharply as the photographs that appear on the ‘Girls in Pearls’ page of Country Life magazine. This is where the nation’s most blue-blooded young women have, for the past hundred years, announced their engagements.

• Storyville: Sync or Swim (Men Who Swim)

  

  Director:

  Dylan Williams

  Producers:

  Al Morrow, Erik Pauser

  Executive Producers:

  Jerry Rothwell, Jonny Persey, Greg Sanderson, Nick Fraser

  Series Producer:

  Nick Fraser

  Production company:

  Amp Film, Met Film Production

  First shown:

  14 June 2010; BBC Four

  Men Who Swim is a humorous and poignant look at a group of middle-aged men who have found unlikely success as members of Sweden’s all male synchronised swimming team. What began as a weekly escape from work and family responsibilities, gradually evolved into a more serious commitment. Funny and poignant ultimately it’s about realising that maybe you’ve already got everything you ever wanted.

• True Stories: Guilty Pleasures

  

  Director:

  Julie Moggan

  Producer:

  Rachel Wexler

  Production company:

  Bungalow Town Productions

  First shown:

  12 April 2011; More 4

  Mills & Boon sell over seven million romance novels a year in the UK and export to 109 countries around the world, with annual global sales of 200 million. Julie Moggan's film examines the allure of the fantasy world created by Mills & Boon, introducing three Mills & Boon enthusiasts, all of whom want to believe that the romantic fantasy can transcend their every day lives

ENVY Best Documentary Series

• Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet

  

  Director:

  Rob Farquhar

  Producer:

  Alice Mayhall

  Executive Producers:

  Clive Tulloh, Southan Morris, Clare Paterson

  Production company:

  Tiger Aspect Productions

  First shown:

  8 March 2011; BBC Four

  This raw and revealing series follows events at one of the world's most respected art institutions during a tough and dramatic year, exposing what it takes to co-ordinate top class ballet. Told through the eyes of the very people who make this challenging art form beautiful, this is the painful truth of dancers’ lives. From injury and exhaustion to accolades and elation, all in the pursuit of perfection.

• Coppers

  

  Director/producers:

  Anthony Philipson, Ben Rumney, Tim Wardle

  Executive producer:

  Simon Ford

  Series producer:

  Ben Rumney

  Production company:

  Blast! Films

  First shown:

  1 November 2010; Channel 4

  Filmed across England, from inner cities to country beats, Coppers reveals what the police are up against every day of their working lives. The series captures the reality of the job: from the riot police who face serious public disorder on our streets, to the seasoned custody sergeants who've seen it all, from the staff facing time-wasters calling 999, to emergency response teams racing to the scene only to find themselves acting as social workers or marriage guidance counsellors.

• Hugh’s Fish Fight

  

  Director/producer:

  Will Anderson

  Executive Producer:

  Andrew Palmer

  Writer:

  Hugh Fearnley-Whittenstall

  Production company:

  KEO Films

  First shown:

  13 January 2011; Channel 4

  In his latest campaigning series, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is leaving the comfort of River Cottage behind to find out what is really going on at the industrial end of our fisheries. And what he finds is that things are not just bad … they’re mad. Over half the fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back overboard dead, and Hugh’s campaign (now supported by over 750,000 people) wants to stop it.

• Human Planet

  

  Director/producers:

  Mark Flowers, Nicolas Brown, Tom Hugh Jones, Tuppence Stone

  Executive Producer:

  Brian Leith

  Series Producers:

  Dale Templar

  Production company:

  BBC, Discovery, France Television

  First shown:

  13 January 2011; BBC One

  Human Planet is a first: a wildlife series about mankind. We are probably the most successful creature on the planet, managing to adapt to every habitat - from the desert to the jungle and even the frozen Arctic. The series features epic yet intimate glimpses of human lives at the very edges of survival. We all seek the same things – but in such different ways! But do we have what it takes to survive our own foolishness?

DocHouse & The Bertha Foundation Best Cinema Documentary

• The Arbor

  

  Director:

  Clio Barnard

  Producer:

  Tracy O'Riordon

  Executive Producer:

  Michael Morris

  Production company:

  Artangel

  First shown:

  15 October 2010; London Film Festival

  The powerful true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her troubled relationship with her daughter Lorraine. Directed by artist and director Clio Barnard; The Arbor is a captivating and revelatory piece of cinema.

• Marathon Boy

  

  Director:

  Gemma Atwal

  Producers:

  Gemma Atwal, Matt Norman

  Executive Producers:

  Alan Hayling, Nick Fraser, Sheila Nevins

  Production company:

  One Horse Town, Renegade Pictures (UK) Ltd

  First shown:

  7 November 2010; Sheffield Doc/Fest

  The story of the youngest marathon runner ever. Following Budhia's roller-coaster journey over five years, Marathon Boy is a Dickensian tale of greed, corruption and broken dreams set between the poverty-stricken slums, and the political intrigue of a modernizing India. Nothing is what it seems in this riveting story and Atwal continually shifts viewer identification to tell both a shocking story of opportunism and exploitation, but also a touching portrait of an authentic bond between a foster father and a child.

• Restrepo

  

  Director/producers:

  Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger

  Executive Producers:

  John Battsek, Nick Quested

  Production company:

  Outpost Films

  First shown:

  8 October 2010; Curzon Soho, London

  Restrepo chronicles the one-year deployment of a platoon of American soldiers at one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan.

• Senna

  

  Director:

  Asif Kapadia

  Producers:

  James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner

  Executive Producers:

  Kevin Macdonald, Manish Pandey, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin

  Writer:

  Manish Pandey

  Production company:

  Working Title Films

  First shown:

  13 April 2011; Press Screening in London

  The film charts Ayrton Senna’s remarkable story, his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained. It spans the racing legend’s years as a Formula One driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later.

CTVC Best Newcomer Documentary

• Budrus

  

  Director:

  Julia Bacha

  Producers:

  Ronit Avni, Julia Bacha, Rula Salameh

  Executive Producers:

  Ronit Avni, Jehane Noujaim

  Writer:

  Julia Bacha

  Production company:

  Just Vision Inc

  First shown:

  26 September 2010; Empire Cinema Leicester Square, London

  Budrus follows a Palestinian community organiser, Ayed Morrar, who unites Palestinian political factions and Israelis in a Gandhian struggle to save his village from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier. When his teenage daughter, Iltezam, organises a women’s contingent, they unleash a successful non-violent movement that is still gaining ground today.

• My Brother the Islamist

  

  Director:

  Robb Leech

  Producer:

  Ray Tostevin

  Executive Producers:

  Simon Ford, Clare Paterson

  Writer:

  Robb Leech

  Production company:

  Grace Productions

  First shown:

  4 April 2011; BBC Three

  Tree surgeon turned filmmaker Robb Leech is desperate to know why his white middle-class step-brother Rich became radical Islamist Salahuddin, who associates with jihadist fundamentalists and believes Britain should be ruled by Sharia law. My Brother the Islamist charts the brothers' relationship, and Robb's attempt to understand Rich’s new extremist life-style. With unique access and filmed over twelve months, the film attracted an extraordinary response on BBC Three, in Spring 2011. Gripping, shocking and emotionally compelling.

• Storyville: Afghan Cricket Club - Out of the Ashes

  

  Director/producers:

  Timothy Albone, Lucy Martens

  Producers:

  Leslie Knott, Rachel Wexler

  Executive Producers:

  Greg Sanderson, Tom Roberts, Sam Mendes

  Series Editor:

  Nick Fraser

  Production company:

  Shabash Productions, Bungalow Town Productions

  First shown:

  7 February 2011; BBC Four

  Against a back drop of war and poverty Afghan Cricket Club: Out of the Ashes traces the extraordinary journey of a team of young Afghan men as they chase a seemingly impossible dream, shedding light on a nation beyond burqas, bombs, drugs and devastation.

• Storyville: Innocent! Paco & the Struggle for Justice

  

  Director:

  Michael Collins

  Producers:

  Marty Syjuco, Jo Lapping

  Executive Producer:

  Nick Fraser

  Production company:

  Thoughtful Robot Productions

  First shown:

  6 April 2011; BBC Four

  Set amidst old world vestiges of colonialism, classism and backdoor politics in the Philippines, Innocent! Paco & the Struggle for Justice rivetingly exposes a Kafkaesque contemporary world of corruption and injustice. In a murder case that ends a nation's use of capital punishment, but fails to free an innocent man, two grieving mothers personify the chasms, both nightmarish in scope, that divide two families and, by extension, a nation.

Sky Arts Best Student Documentary

• Caring for Calum

  

  Director/Producer:

  Lou McLoughlan

  Producer:

  Lauren Fox

  Executive Producer:

  Emma Davie

  Institution:

  Edinburgh College of Art

  First shown:

  23 February 2011; Glasgow Film Festival

  A middle aged man returns to his Highland home, after years in exile, bringing with him a complex past that threatens his ambition to look after his father. As 92 year old Calum enjoys the care and boisterous humour of a shared home with his son, a tragedy in Uisdean’s past re-surfaces, leaving the role of carer to lapp back and forth between them, with the loch tides".

• Noctuaries

  

  Director/producer:

  Olivia Humphreys

  Institution:

  Goldsmiths, University of London

  First shown:

  11 January 2011; London Short Film Festival

  In the ten years since my mother's death, my family and I have had frequent, vivid and profoundly moving dreams about her. Noctuaries looks at how each of us has responded to these dreams, and how they have formed part of our grieving.

• Small Protests

  

  Director/producer:

  Zillah Bowes

  Institution:

  National Film & Television School

  First shown:

  3 November 2010; Sheffield Doc/Fest

  With nothing but a toothbrush in his back pocket, 19 year old Rabbit decides to change the world one protest at a time.

• Vince and Cherry’s Greatest Hits

  

  Director/producers:

  Lucy Liddell, Sam Smith-Higgins, Ezra Byrne

  Institution:

  Newport Film School

  First shown:

  10 December 2010; Newport Film School

  Vince and Cherry had it all - music and fame. They also had booze and fights. Then god told them to stop and build a church in the south Wales Valleys. They did as they were told - but no one comes.