The Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film is an award given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Academy Awards ceremony honoring the best documentary short film. The award was first presented at the 14th Academy Awards in 1942. Copies of every winning film (along with copies of most nominees) are held by the Academy Film Archive. Fifteen films are shortlisted before nominations are announced.

Rules and eligibility

Per the recent rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a Short Subject Documentary is defined as a nonfiction motion picture "dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects". It may be photographed in actual occurrence, or may employ partial reenactment, stock footage, stills, animation, stop-motion or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact, and not on fiction. It must have a run time of no more than 40 minutes and released during a special eligibility period which may vary from year to year, but generally begins the month of October of the prior year and ends in September of the award year. (This eligibility differs from most other Academy Award categories which only includes films released between January and December of the award year.) The documentary's release must also occur within two years of the film's completion, and there are also rules governing the formatting of audio and video used to produce and exhibit the picture.

In addition, to be eligible the film must meet one of the following criteria:

  • complete a commercial showing of at least 7 days in either Los Angeles County, California or anywhere in New York City before being released to other non-theatrical venues such as DVD or TV; or
  • regardless of any public exhibition or nontheatrical release the film must have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival, as specified by the Academy; or
  • win a Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal award in the Documentary category of the Academy's Student Academy Award Competition.

The film must run daily for seven days, open to the public for paid admission, and must be advertised in one of the city's major circulars during its run, with screening times included. Additionally, the film must be shown at least once during every day of its qualifying run. Unlike the Best Documentary Feature award, whose rules mandate at least one screening starting between noon and 10 pm local time on each day of the qualifying run, there is no restriction on the start time of any screening. The film must have narration or dialogue primarily in English or with English subtitles, and must be the whole of an original work. Partial edits from larger works and episodes from serialized films are not eligible.

Eligibility rules for prior years may have differed from these.

Nomination process

The Documentary Branch of the Academy first votes to select ten pictures for preliminary nomination, after which a second round of balloting is conducted to select the five documentary nominees. The entire Academy membership will then vote for one of these five for the Oscar. A maximum of two people involved with the production of the documentary may be nominated for the award, one of whom must be the film's credited director. One producer may also be nominated, but if more than one non-director producer is credited the Academy Documentary Branch will vet the producers to select the one they believe was most involved in the creation of the film.

Winners and nominees

1940s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="5%" | Year

! width="45%" | Film

! width="50%" | Nominees

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

! rowspan="11" |1941<br /><small>(14th)</small>

| Churchill's Island

| National Film Board of Canada

|-

| Adventure in the Bronx

| Film Associates

|-

| Bomber

| United States Office for Emergency Management Film Unit

|-

| Christmas Under Fire

| British Ministry of Information

|-

| Letter from Home

| British Ministry of Information

|-

| Life of a Thoroughbred

| Truman Talley

|-

| Norway in Revolt

| The March of Time

|-

| A Place to Live

| Philadelphia Housing Association

|-

| Russian Soil

| Amkino

|-

| Soldiers of the Sky

| Truman Talley

|-

| Warclouds in the Pacific

| National Film Board of Canada

|-

! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 1942<br /><small>(15th)</small>

|- style="background:silver;" rowspan="2"

| colspan="2" | Short subject and feature documentaries competed in a combined Best Documentary category.

|-

! rowspan="8" style="text-align:center" | 1943<br /><small>(16th)</small> <br /> <br />

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| December 7th

| United States Navy

|-

| Children of Mars

| RKO Radio

|-

| Plan for Destruction

| Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

|-

| Swedes in America

| United States Office of War Information Overseas Motion Picture Bureau

|-

| To the People of the United States

| Walter Wanger

|-

| Tomorrow We Fly

| United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics

|-

| Youth in Crisis

| The March of Time

|-

! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 1944<br /><small>(17th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| With the Marines at Tarawa

| United States Marine Corps

|-

| Hymn of the Nations

| United States Office of War Information Overseas Motion Picture Bureau

|-

| New Americans

| RKO Radio

|-

! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 1945<br /><small>(18th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Hitler Lives?

| Gordon Hollingshead

|-

| Library of Congress

| United States Office of War Information Overseas Motion Picture Bureau

|-

| To the Shores of Iwo Jima

| United States Marine Corps

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 1946<br /><small>(19th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Seeds of Destiny

| United States Department of War

|-

| Atomic Power

| The March of Time

|-

| Life at the Zoo

| Artkino

|-

| Paramount News Issue #37 (Twentieth Anniversary Issue! 1927.....1947)

| Paramount

|-

| Traffic with the Devil

| Herbert Morgan

|-

! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 1947<br /><small>(20th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| First Steps

| United Nations Division of Films and Visual Information

|-

| Passport to Nowhere

| Frederic Ullman Jr.

|-

| School in the Mailbox

| Australian News & Information Bureau

|-

! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 1948<br /><small>(21st)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Toward Independence

| United States Army

|-

| Heart to Heart

| Herbert Morgan

|-

| Operation Vittles

| United States Army Air Force

|-

! rowspan="5" style="text-align:center" | 1949<br /><small>(22nd)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| A Chance to Live <small>(TIE)</small>

| Richard de Rochemont

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| So Much for So Little <small>(TIE)</small>

| Edward Selzer

|-

| 1848

| French Cinema General Cooperative

|-

| The Rising Tide

| St. Francis-Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia

|-

|}

1950s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="5%" | Year

! width="45%" | Film

! width="50%" | Nominees

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

! rowspan="3" |1950<br /><small>(23rd)</small>

| Why Korea?

| Edmund Reek

|-

| The Fight: Science Against Cancer

| Guy Glover

|-

| The Stairs

| Film Documents, Inc.

|-

! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 1951<br /><small>(24th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Benjy

| Made by Fred Zinnemann with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures Corporation for the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital

|-

| One Who Came Back

| Owen Crump (Film sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans, in cooperation with the United States Department of Defense and the Association of Motion Picture Producers)

|-

| The Seeing Eye

| Gordon Hollingshead

|-

! rowspan="5" style="text-align:center" | 1952<br /><small>(25th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Neighbours

| Norman McLaren

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| The White Helmets

| Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

|-

| Extremis

| Dan Krauss

|-

| 4.1 Miles

| Daphne Matziaraki

|-

| Joe's Violin

| Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen

|-

| Watani: My Homeland

| Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2017<br /><small>(90th)</small> <br />

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405

| Frank Stiefel

|-

| Edith+Eddie

| Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright

|-

| Heroin(e)

| Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Kerrin Sheldon

|-

| Knife Skills

| Thomas Lennon

|-

| Traffic Stop

| Kate Davis and David Heilbroner

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2018<br /><small>(91st)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Period. End of Sentence.

| Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton

|-

| Black Sheep

| Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn

|-

| End Game

| Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

|-

| Lifeboat

| Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser

|-

| A Night at the Garden

| Marshall Curry

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2019<br /><small>(92nd)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)

| Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva

|-

| In the Absence

| Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam

|-

| Life Overtakes Me

| John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson

|-

| St. Louis Superman

| Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan

|-

| Walk Run Cha-Cha

| Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt

|}

2020s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="5%" | Year

! width="45%" | Film

! width="50%" | Nominees

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

! rowspan="5" |2020/21<br /><small>(93rd)</small>

| Colette

| Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard

|-

| A Concerto Is a Conversation

| Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

|-

| Do Not Split

| Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook

|-

| Hunger Ward

| Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman

|-

| A Love Song for Latasha

| Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2021<br /><small>(94th)</small>

|-style="background:#FAEB86"

| The Queen of Basketball

| Ben Proudfoot

|-

| Audible

| Matthew Ogens and Geoff McLean

|-

| Lead Me Home

| Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk

|-

| Three Songs for Benazir

| Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei

|-

| When We Were Bullies

| Jay Rosenblatt

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2022<br /><small>(95th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| The Elephant Whisperers

| Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

|-

| Haulout

| Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

|-

| How Do You Measure a Year?

| Jay Rosenblatt

|-

| The Martha Mitchell Effect

| Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

|-

| Stranger at the Gate

| Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2023<br /><small>(96th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| The Last Repair Shop

| Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

|-

| The ABCs of Book Banning

| Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic

|-

| The Barber of Little Rock

| John Hoffman and Christine Turner

|-

| Island in Between

| S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien

|-

| Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

| Sean Wang and Sam Davis

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2024<br /><small>(97th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| The Only Girl in the Orchestra || Molly O'Brien and Lisa Remington

|-

| Death by Numbers || Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard

|-

| I Am Ready, Warden || Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp

|-

| Incident || Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven

|-

| Instruments of a Beating Heart || Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari

|-

! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | 2025<br /><small>(98th)</small>

|- style="background:#FAEB86"

| All the Empty Rooms || Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

|-

| Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud || Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo

|-

| Children No More: "Were and Are Gone" ||Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins

|-

| The Devil Is Busy || Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir

|-

| Perfectly a Strangeness || Alison McAlpine

|}

Multiple wins

Individuals with multiple wins

;3 wins

  • Charles Guggenheim

;2 wins

  • Malcolm Clarke
  • Walt Disney
  • Bill Guttentag
  • Robin Lehman
  • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • Ben Proudfoot

Studios with multiple wins

;4 wins

  • National Film Board of Canada

;3 wins

  • Walt Disney Productions

Individuals with multiple nominations

;9 nominations

  • Charles Guggenheim

;4 nominations

  • Karen Goodman
  • Freida Lee Mock

;3 nominations

  • George Casey
  • Walt Disney
  • Bill Guttentag
  • Thomas Lennon
  • The March of Time
  • Herbert Morgan
  • National Film Board of Canada
  • Steven Okazaki
  • Ben Proudfoot
  • DeWitt L. Sage Jr.
  • Terry Sanders
  • Kirk Simon
  • United States Office of War Information Overseas Motion Picture Bureau
  • Dick Young

;2 nominations

  • Jon Alpert
  • Lee R. Bobker
  • Kris Bowers
  • British Ministry of Information
  • Patrick Carey
  • Malcolm Clarke
  • Skye Fitzgerald
  • Roland Hallé
  • John Healy
  • Gordon Hollingshead
  • Bobby Houston
  • Conall Jones
  • Daniel Junge
  • Steve Kalafer
  • Julian Krainin
  • Dan Krauss
  • Robin Lehman
  • Alec Lorimore
  • James R. Messenger
  • Greg MacGillivray
  • Mafilm Studio
  • Sheila Nevins
  • Matthew O'Neill
  • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • Robert Richter
  • RKO Radio
  • Jay Rosenblatt
  • Joshua Seftel
  • Eric Simonson
  • Truman Talley
  • Francis Thompson
  • United States Marine Corps
  • Vivienne Verdon-Roe
  • Cynthia Wade
  • Donald Wrye
  • Gerardine Wurzburg
  • Ruby Yang

Notes

References

See also

  • Submissions for Best Documentary Short Academy Award
  • List of Academy Award–nominated films