AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary

AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary
AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary
Awarded for	Best documentary film by or about people over 50
Country	United States
Presented by	AARP
First award	Fighter (2001)
Currently held by	Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
Website	https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/

The AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary is one of the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards presented annually by the AARP. The award honors the best documentary film from a given year that is made by or focuses on people over the age of 50.^[1] The Best Documentary Award is one of the seven original trophies issued by AARP the Magazine, along with awards for Best Movie for Grownups, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up.^[2]

Winners and Nominees

indicates the winners.

2000s

Year	Film	Director(s)	Ref.
2001 (1st)	Fighter	Amir Bar-Lev	^[3]
2002 (2nd)	Standing in the Shadows of Motown	Paul Justman	^[4]
	Bowling for Columbine	Michael Moore
	Carnauba: A Son's Memoir	Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr.
	Rivers and Tides	Thomas Riedelsheimer
2003 (3rd)	Concert for George	David Leland	^[5]
	Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary	André Heller Othmar Schmiderer
	The Fog of War	Errol Morris
2004 (4th)	Festival Express	Bob Smeaton	^[6]
	Control Room	Jehane Noujaim
	Metallica: Some Kind of Monster	Joe Berlinger Bruce Sinofsky
	Riding Giants	Stacy Peralta
	The Story of the Weeping Camel	Byambasuren Davaa Luigi Falnori
2005 (5th)	Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room	Alex Gibney	^[7]
	Grizzly Man	Werner Herzog
	March of the Penguins	Luc Jacquet
	No Direction Home: Bob Dylan	Martin Scorsese
	Tell Them Who You Are	Mark Wexler
2006 (6th)	51 Birch Street	Doug Block	^[8]
	49 Up	Michael Apted
	An Inconvenient Truth	Davis Guggenheim
	Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater	Julie Anderson
	Wordplay	Patrick Creadon
2007 (7th)	In the Shadow of the Moon (tie)	David Sington Christopher Riley	^[9]
	Sicko (tie)	Michael Moore
	For the Bible Tells Me So	Daniel G. Karslake
	Hear and Now	Irene Taylor Brodsky
	Run Granny, Run	Marlo Poras
2008 (8th)	Man on Wire	James Marsh	^[10]
	Young@Heart	Stephen Walker
	Chris & Don: A Love Story	Guido Santi Tina Mascara
	I.O.U.S.A.	Patrick Creadon
	FLOW: For Love of Water	Irena Salina
2009 (9th)	The Way We Get By	Aron Gaudet	^[11]
	Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement	Susan Muska Gréta Ólafsdóttir
	Gotta Dance	Dori Berinstein
	The Philosopher Kings	Patrick Shen
	Still Bill	Damani Baker Alex Vlack

2010s

Year	Film	Director(s)	Ref.
2010 (10th)	Waste Land	Lucy Walker	^[12]
	Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer	Alex Gibney
	Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work	Ricki Stern Anne Sundberg
	Waiting for "Superman"	Davis Guggenheim
	Marwencol	Jeff Malmberg
2011 (11th)	Bill Cunningham New York	Richard Press	^[13]
	Hot Coffee	Susan Saladoff
	The Interrupters	Steve James
	Project Nim	James Marsh
	Undefeated	Daniel Lindsay T. J. Martin
2012 (12th)	Searching for Sugar Man	Malik Bendjelloul	^[14]
	Betting the Farm	Jason Mann Cecily Pingree
	Charles Bradley: Soul of America	Poull Brien
	How to Survive a Plague	David France
	Surviving Hitler: A Love Story	John Keith Wasson
2013 (13th)	20 Feet from Stardom	Morgan Neville	^[15]
	Herb & Dorothy 50x50	Megumi Sasaki
	Muscle Shoals	Greg "Freddy" Camalier
	Running from Crazy	Barbara Kopple
	Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde	Suzanne Mitchell
2014 (14th)	Keep On Keepin' On	Alan Hicks	^[16]^[17]
	Advanced Style	Lina Plioplyte
	Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me	James Keach
	Perfect Strangers	Jane Krawitz
	The Trials of Muhammad Ali	Bill Siegel
2015 (15th)	The Last Man on the Moon	Mark Craig	^[18]^[19]
	Best of Enemies	Robert Gordon Morgan Neville
	In Transit	Albert Maysles Lynn True David Usui
	Radical Grace	Rebecca Parrish
	Very Semi-Serious	Leah Wolchok
2016 (16th)	The Beatles: Eight Days a Week	Ron Howard	^[20]
	Big Sonia	Leah Warshawski Todd Soliday
	Everything Is Copy	Jacob Bernstein Nick Hooker
	Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise	Rita Coburn Whack Bob Hercules
	Tower	Keith Maitland
2017 (17th)	I Am Not Your Negro	Raoul Peck	^[21]
	Dolores	Peter Bratt
	Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story	Daniel Raim
	Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold	Griffin Dunne
	Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo	David Fairhead
2018 (18th)	Won't You Be My Neighbor	Morgan Neville	^[22]
	Amazing Grace	Alan Elliott Sydney Pollack (uncredited)
	Bathtubs Over Broadway	Dava Whisenant
	RBG	Betsy West Julie Cohen
	The Rest I Make Up	Michelle Memran
2019 (19th)	Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice	Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman	^[23]
	Apollo 11	Todd Douglas Miller
	Ask Dr. Ruth	Ryan White
	The Apollo	Roger Ross Williams
	Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am	Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

2020s

Year	Film	Director(s)	Ref.
2020/21 (20th)	A Secret Love	Chris Bolan	^[24]
	Crip Camp	Nicole Newnham James Lebrecht
	Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy	Elizabeth Carroll
	Dick Johnson Is Dead	Kirsten Johnson
	Sky Blossom	Richard Lui
2021 (21st)	Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)	Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson	^[25]^[26]
	The Beatles: Get Back	Peter Jackson
	Julia	Julie Cohen Betsy West
	My Name is Pauli Murray	Betsy West Julie Cohen
	Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America	Emily Kunstler Sarah Kunstler
2022 (22nd)	Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down	Julie Cohen Betsy West	^[27]
	Lucy and Desi	Amy Poehler
	The Pez Outlaw	Amy Bandlien Storkel Bryan Storkel
	Sidney	Reginald Hudlin
	Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off	Sam Jones
2023 (23rd)	Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie	Davis Guggenheim	^[28]^[29]
	Invisible Beauty	Bethann Hardison
	Judy Blume Forever	Davina Pardo Leah Wolchok
	The Lost Weekend: A Love Story	Eve Brandstein
	The Pigeon Tunnel	Errol Morris
2024 (24th)	Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story	Ian Bonhôte Peter Ettedgui	^[30]
	I Am: Celine Dion	Irene Taylor
	Luther: Never Too Much	Dawn Porter
	Piece by Piece	Morgan Neville
	Will & Harper	Josh Greenbaum

Directors with Multiple Nominations and Wins

The following directors have received multiple nominations for Best Documentary:

Wins	Director	Nominations
2	Morgan Neville	3
1	Alex Gibney	2
	Davis Guggenheim	3
	James Marsh	2
	Michael Moore	2
0	Julie Cohen & Betsy West	4
0	Patrick Creadon	2

References

^ Appelo, Tim. "About AARP Movies for Grownups Awards". AARP.
^ Newcott, William R. (May 2002). "Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 56–58.
^ Newcott, William R. (May 2002). "Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 56–58.
^ "Movies for Grownups Awards 2003 with Bill Newcott".
^ "Movies for Grownups Awards 2004 with Bill Newcott".
^ "Winners and Runners-Up of Movies for Grownups Awards, 2006 with Bill N".
^ Newcott, William R. (March 2006). ""Fifth Annual Movies for Grownups"". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 50–51.
^ "Best Actress 50 and over, and Other Movies for Grownups Awards with Bi".
^ "Movies for Grownups Awards 2008 with Bill Newcott - AARP Magazine".
^ "Movies for Grownups Awards 2009 from Bill Newcott of AARP".
^ "AARP the Magazine Recognizes the Best Movies for the 50+ Audience with the 9th Annual Movies for Grownups(R) Awards" (Press release).
^ "2011 Movies for Grownups Awards".
^ "Movies for Grownups Award Winners - the Descendents, J. Edgar, the Artist".
^ "2013 Movies for Grownups Awards".
^ "13th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards, 2014 Best Actor, Actress and F".
^ Newcott, William R.; Grant, Meg (February 2015). "14th Annual Best Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 44–47, 77.
^ "14th Annual Movies for Grownups Award winners from AARP the Magazine Announced with Top Honors Going to Julianne Moore, Steve Carell, Rene Russo and J.K. Simmons #AwardSeason #AARPtheMagazine". January 10, 2015.
^ "AARP the Magazine Announces Nominees for 2015 Movies for Grownups Awards incl. 'Brooklyn' 'Spotlight'". December 16, 2015.
^ "'Spotlight' Named Best 'Movie for Grownups' by AARP". January 5, 2016.
^ "AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 6, 2017.
^ "AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards: 'The Post' Leads Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. January 17, 2018.
^ "'Green Book' and 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' Win Big at AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. February 4, 2019.
^ "The Two Popes Earns 7 Nods in AARP's Movies for Grown-ups Awards". November 26, 2019.
^ "AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' Named Best Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2021.
^ "'Belfast' Tops Nominees for AARP Movies for Grownups Awards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. January 11, 2022.
^ "AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: 'Belfast' Named Best Film; 'King Richard' Lone Double Winner – Full List". March 19, 2022.
^ "'The Fabelmans' Leads AARP's 2023 Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees".
^ "Movies for Grownups 2024 Awards: Meet the Winners!". AARP. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
^ "Announcing AARP's 2024 Movies for Grownups Award Nominees". AARP. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
^ Appelo, Tim (February 8, 2025). "Movies for Grownups Awards 2025: Meet the Winners!". AARP. Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 8, 2025.

[1] Appelo, Tim. "About AARP Movies for Grownups Awards". AARP.

[2] Newcott, William R. (May 2002). "Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 56–58.

[3] Newcott, William R. (May 2002). "Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 56–58.

[4] "Movies for Grownups Awards 2003 with Bill Newcott".

[5] "Movies for Grownups Awards 2004 with Bill Newcott".

[6] "Winners and Runners-Up of Movies for Grownups Awards, 2006 with Bill N".

[7] Newcott, William R. (March 2006). ""Fifth Annual Movies for Grownups"". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 50–51.

[8] "Best Actress 50 and over, and Other Movies for Grownups Awards with Bi".

[9] "Movies for Grownups Awards 2008 with Bill Newcott - AARP Magazine".

[10] "Movies for Grownups Awards 2009 from Bill Newcott of AARP".

[11] "AARP the Magazine Recognizes the Best Movies for the 50+ Audience with the 9th Annual Movies for Grownups(R) Awards" (Press release).

[12] "2011 Movies for Grownups Awards".

[13] "Movies for Grownups Award Winners - the Descendents, J. Edgar, the Artist".

[14] "2013 Movies for Grownups Awards".

[15] "13th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards, 2014 Best Actor, Actress and F".

[16] Newcott, William R.; Grant, Meg (February 2015). "14th Annual Best Movies for Grownups". AARP the Magazine. Washington, D.C. pp. 44–47, 77.

[17] "14th Annual Movies for Grownups Award winners from AARP the Magazine Announced with Top Honors Going to Julianne Moore, Steve Carell, Rene Russo and J.K. Simmons #AwardSeason #AARPtheMagazine". January 10, 2015.

[18] "AARP the Magazine Announces Nominees for 2015 Movies for Grownups Awards incl. 'Brooklyn' 'Spotlight'". December 16, 2015.

[19] "'Spotlight' Named Best 'Movie for Grownups' by AARP". January 5, 2016.

[20] "AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 6, 2017.

[21] "AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards: 'The Post' Leads Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. January 17, 2018.

[22] "'Green Book' and 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' Win Big at AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. February 4, 2019.

[23] "The Two Popes Earns 7 Nods in AARP's Movies for Grown-ups Awards". November 26, 2019.

[24] "AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' Named Best Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2021.

[25] "'Belfast' Tops Nominees for AARP Movies for Grownups Awards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. January 11, 2022.

[26] "AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: 'Belfast' Named Best Film; 'King Richard' Lone Double Winner – Full List". March 19, 2022.

[27] "'The Fabelmans' Leads AARP's 2023 Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees".

[28] "Movies for Grownups 2024 Awards: Meet the Winners!". AARP. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

[29] "Announcing AARP's 2024 Movies for Grownups Award Nominees". AARP. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

[30] Appelo, Tim (February 8, 2025). "Movies for Grownups Awards 2025: Meet the Winners!". AARP. Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 8, 2025.

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v t e AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
Film	Best Movie for Grownups Best Director Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Screenwriter Best Ensemble Best Intergenerational Film Best Time Capsule Best Documentary
Television	Best TV Series or Limited Series Best Actor Best Actress
Discontinued	Best Buddy Picture Best Comedy Best Foreign Film Best Grownup Love Story Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up Best TV Movie/Limited Series Best TV Series
Ceremonies	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (years are of film release; ceremonies are the next year)

AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary

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