Shell International Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue
- Dancing Boys of Afghanistan
- Jamie Doran for Clover Films; first shown: More 4
- Dancing with the Devil
- Jon Blair for Jon Blair Films; first shown: More 4
- Moving to Mars
- Mat Whitecross for Coded Pictures; first shown: More 4
- Mugabe and the White African
- Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson for Arturi Films Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
- Murder on the Lake
- Henry Singer for Sandpaper Films/Dragonfly Television; first shown: Sheffield Doc/Fest
- Welcome to Lagos - Episode 3
- Gavin Searle, Frankie Fathers for KEO films; first shown: BBC Two
- Women, Weddings, War and Me
- Ruhi Hamid for BBC News and Current Affairs London; first shown: BBC Three
- Wounded
- Sara Hardy for BBC; first shown: BBC One
Best Documentary on the Arts
- Arena: T.S. Eliot
- Adam Low for BBC Arena; first shown: BBC Two
- The Art on Your Wall with Sue Perkins
- Chris Walker for Twofour; first shown: BBC Two
- Ballet Boyz: The Right of Spring
- Michael Nunn, William Trevitt for BBC Classical Music TV; first shown: BBC Three
- David Hockney: A Bigger Picture
- Bruno Wollheim for Coluga Pictures; first shown: BBC One
- The Man Who Shot the Sixties
- Linda Brusasco for Crackit Productions Ltd; first shown: BBC Four
- Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me
- Sheila Hayman for Renegade Pictures (UK) Ltd.; first shown: BBC Four
- Only When I Dance
- Beadie Finzi for Tigerlilly Films; first shown: Channel 4
- Van Gogh: Painted with Words
- Andrew Hutton for BBC; first shown: BBC One
History Today Best Historical Documentary
- 9/11 Calls from the Towers
- James Kent for Darlow Smithson; first shown: Channel 4
- Blitz: The Bombing of Coventry
- Ashley Gething for Blast! Films Ltd; first shown: BBC Two
- Deadliest Crash
- Richard Heap, John Matthews for Bigger Picture; first shown: British Racing Drivers’ Club, Silverstone
- Dirty Little Secrets
- Tim Tate for Al Jazeera English; first shown: Al Jazeera English
- Great Offices of State: The Dark Department (The Home Office)
- James Giles for BBC Current Affairs; first shown: BBC Four
- Obama’s America: The Price of Freedom
- Ashley Gething for Oxford Film and Television; first shown: BBC Two
- Requiem for Detroit
- Julien Temple for Films of Record; first shown: BBC Two
- Soundtrack for a Revolution
- Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman for Freedom Song Productions; first shown: Sheffield Doc/Fest
- Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution
- Carl Hindmarch for BBC Scotland; first shown: BBC Two
Best Science Documentary
- Embarrassing Bodies: Charlotte’s Story
- Paul Kittel for Maverick Television; first shown: Channel 4
- Inside Nature’s Giants: Whales
- Julian Thomas for Windfall; first shown: Channel 4
- The Price of Life
- Adam Wishart for BBC Vision; first shown: BBC Two
- Race and Intelligence: Science’s Last Taboo
- David Hickman for Windfall; first shown: Channel 4
- The Secret Life of Chaos
- Nic Stacey for Furnace TV; first shown: BBC Four
- Space Tourists
- Christian Frei for Christian Frei Filmproductions; first shown: London International Documentary Festival
- The Trials of J Robert Oppenheimer
- David Grubin for BBC, WGBH; first shown: BBC Four
- Wonders of the Solar System: Empire of the Sun
- Gideon Bradshaw for BBC Vision Science; first shown: BBC Two
Most Entertaining Documentary
- American: The Bill Hicks Story
- Paul Thomas, Matt Harlock for Halflife Films, Jackamo TV; first shown: London Film Festival
- The Choir: The Unsung Town
- Dollan Cannell, Harry Beney for Twenty Twenty TV; first shown: BBC Two
- Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man - Episode 1
- Rob Farquhar, Eddie Izzard for Tiger Aspect Productions; first shown: BBC3
- Exit Through the Gift Shop
- Banksy for Paranoid Pictures Film Company Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
- Kim Jong-Il’s Comedy Club
- Mads Brugger for DR & Zentropa; first shown: BBC Four
- The Lady and the Revamp
- John Dower, Becky Clarke for Optomen Television; first shown: Channel 4
- My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
- Osca Humphreys for Firecracker Films; first shown: Channel 4
- Starsuckers
- Christina Slater, Felicity Leadbetter for Halidom; first shown: More 4
Best Drama Documentary
- 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth
- Justin Hardy for Hardy Pictures; first shown: Channel 4
- Carwyn
- Dylan Richards for Green Bay; first shown: S4C
- Endgame
- Peter Travis for Daybreak; first shown: Channel 4
- Five Daughters
- Philippa Lowthorpe for BBC Productions; first shown: BBC One
- Micro Men
- Saul Metzstein for Darlow Smithson Productions; first shown: BBC Four
- Mo
- Philip Martin for ITV Studios; first shown: Channel 4
- Spanish Flu - The Forgotten Fallen
- Justin Hardy for Hardy Pictures; first shown: BBC Four
Envy Best Documentary Series
- The Family
- David Clews for Dragonfly; first shown: Channel 4
- The Force
- Patrick Forbes for Oxford Film and Television; Producer: Stephanie Collins, first shown: Channel 4
- Great Ormond Street
- Ricardo Pollack, Simon Gilchrist for Films of Record; first shown: BBC Two
- One Born Every Minute
- James House for Dragonfly; first shown: Channel 4
- Ross Kemp: Middle East
- Olly Lambert for Tiger Aspect and Mongoose Productions; first shown: Sky1
- We are Family
- Gabe Solomon, Ben Rumney, Danny Horan, Emily Jones for Blast! Films Ltd; first shown: BBC Two
- Welcome to Lagos
- Gavin Searle, Will Anderson for KEO films; first shown: BBC Two
- Women
- Vanessa Engle for BBC; first shown: BBC Four
Best Cinema Documentary
- American: The Bill Hicks Story
- Paul Thomas, Matt Harlock for Halflife Films, Jackamo TV; first shown: General theatrical release
- The End of the Line
- Rupert Murray for Arcane Pictures, Calm Productions, Dartmouth Films; first shown: General theatrical release
- Enemies of the People
- Rob Lemkin, Thet Sambath for Old Street Films; first shown: Human Rights Watch Film Festival
- Exit Through the Gift Shop
- Banksy for Paranoid Pictures Film Company Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
- Horses
- Liz Mermin for West Park Pictures; first shown: Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
- Mugabe and the White African
- Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson for Arturi Films Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
- No Distance Left to Run
- Dylan Southern, Wil Lovelace for Pulse Films; first shown: General theatrical release
- Sons of Cuba
- Andrew Lang for Sons of Cuba Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
The Jonathan Gili Award for the Best Newcomer
- Addicted in Afghanistan
- Jawed Taiman for Katalyst Productions Ltd; first shown: Sheffield Doc/Fest
- The Baby and the Buddha
- Nati Baratz for Samsara Films Ltd for ITVS International; first shown: BBC Four
- Letters to Angola
- Lauren Muchan, Joe Sharp for IFSW; first shown: Ffresh Festival
- A Miracle in West Brom
- Billy Dosanjh for National Film & Television School; first shown: BFI Southbank, London
- Shelter in Place
- Zed Nelson for WagonTrail Productions, Clarity Productions; first shown: Sheffield Doc/Fest
- Sons of Cuba
- Andrew Lang for Sons of Cuba Ltd; first shown: General theatrical release
- Tony - I’ve Lost My Family
- Max Fisher for Lambent Productions; first shown: BBC Three
- Tsirk
- David R Cairns; first shown: Sheffield Doc/Fest
