You Can See Everything swept the Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday night, winning all five of its nominations, including Best Documentary Feature. If history is any guide, that won’t mean much on Oscar night.
The CCA has named 11 Best Documentary Feature winners in its first 10 years, counting a tie in 2024. Only three were nominated for the Oscar, and just two won: O.J.: Made in America and Summer of Soul.
| Year | Critics Choice winner | At the Oscars | Oscar winner |
| 2016 | O.J.: Made in America | Won | O.J.: Made in America |
| 2017 | Jane | Not nominated | Icarus |
| 2018 | Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | Not nominated | Free Solo |
| 2019 | Apollo 11 | Not nominated | American Factory |
| 2020 | Dick Johnson Is Dead | Not nominated | My Octopus Teacher |
| 2021 | Summer of Soul | Won | Summer of Soul |
| 2022 | Good Night Oppy | Not nominated | Navalny |
| 2023 | Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie | Not nominated | 20 Days in Mariupol |
| 2024 | Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Will & Harper (tie) | Not nominated | No Other Land |
| 2025 | The Perfect Neighbor | Nominated | Mr. Nobody Against Putin |
| 2026 | You Can See Everything | TBD | TBD |
Most of those Oscar winners didn’t win at the CCA, either. Five were nominated for the CCA’s top prize and lost: Free Solo, American Factory, My Octopus Teacher, Navalny, and 20 Days in Mariupol. Navalny took bronze in 2022, the year the CCA handed out gold, silver, and bronze. Three more — Icarus, No Other Land, and Mr. Nobody Against Putin — weren’t even nominated.
That’s just another example of how the Academy’s documentary branch refuses to be told who to vote for. Critics and entertainment journalists in the CCA pick its winners, while Oscar nominees come from the Academy’s documentary branch, a group of about 770 documentary filmmakers. “The branch has kind of deliberately, when it comes time for nominations, moved in other directions than highly popular films,” TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers told Gold Derby.
Their tastes show up in the titles. Recent CCA winners have leaned toward famous faces: Michael J. Fox in Still, Christopher Reeve in Super/Man, and Will Ferrell in Will & Harper. The Oscars have gone another way, with the last four Best Documentary Feature winners focusing on war, authoritarianism, or their effects: Navalny, 20 Days in Mariupol, No Other Land, and Mr. Nobody Against Putin.
That’s the hurdle for You Can See Everything, a box-office hit that centers on Elizabeth Holmes and puts Fielder on camera. It ranks eighth in Gold Derby’s Best Picture odds, on track to become the first documentary ever nominated in that category. Yet a Best Documentary Feature nomination is far from a sure thing. When Gold Derby spoke with members of the doc branch, their reactions ranged from raves to outright dismissal. If it does take the Oscar, it will be just the third film to win both.
Meanwhile, Naza, which leads Gold Derby’s Oscar odds for Best Documentary Feature, won just one award on Sunday, Best Political Documentary. Naza directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor co-directed No Other Land, which wasn’t among the CCA’s Best Documentary Feature nominees and went on to win the Oscar in 2025.
Best Documentary Feature
1.
2.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
3.
4.
5.
One branch member who wasn’t won over by You Can See Everything summed up the bind. “If it doesn’t get nominated, we are going to get such backlash, which will be worse than if it just gets nominated and wins,” they said. “I just think it’s such an ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ situation.”
We’ll find out whether the doc branch gets behind You Can See Everything when Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 21.
