The final nominations for the 2021 Grierson Awards have been announced, and we’re thrilled to see so many members recognised for their work in factual across so many categories.
In the Best Single Documentary — Domestic category, Directors UK members Jonnie Hughes, Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey are nominated for their work on David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, while member Emma Wakefield is nominated for Defending Digga D. Members Hanna Lowes and Sophie Leonard are also recognised in the category for Katie Price: Harvey and Me, as are Xavier Alford and Sacha Mirzoeff for Locked In: Breaking the Silence.
In the grouping for Best Current Affairs Documentary, Directors UK members Marcus Plowright and Diene Petterle are recognised for ITV Exposure: In Cold Blood, while fellow members Joshua Barker, Dan Edge and Leo Telling are nominated for Return From ISIS: A Family’s Story. Members Jessica Kelly and Simon Cox are also nominated with Undercover in the Schools that Chain Boys.
Meanwhile, in Best Arts Documentary, Directors UK members Rob Lemkin and David Upshal are recognised for their work on African Apocalypse, while John O’Rourke is nominated for imagine… Lemn Sissay: The Memory of Me. Fellow member Ben Anthony is also nominated in the category for his work on Keith Haring: Street Art Boy. The member nominations continue throughout the Best Music Documentary and Best Sports Documentary categories, as Paul Sng is nominated in the former for Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, and Jeremy Lee, Wendie Ottewill and James Ross are nominated in the latter for Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me.
Directors UK members are acknowledged with all four of the Best History Documentary nominees. Jonathan Smith and Jaimie D’Cruz are nominated for work on Damilola: The Boy Next Door; Jonathan Smith is nominated for work on DeLorean: Back from the Future; James Bluemel, Jo Abel, Will Anderson and Andrew Palmer are nominated for Once Upon a Time in Iraq — Episode 2, and Kate Scholefield is nominated for Silenced: The Hidden Story of Disabled Britain.
In Best Science Documentary, Directors UK members Xavier Alford and Sacha Mirzoeff are nominated a second time for Locked In: Breaking the Silence. Meanwhile, members Ed Watkins and Stuart Prebble are nominated for The Last Artifact and Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer respectively. Meanwhile, in the category for Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary, members Olly Bootle and Mike Radford are nominated for Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline – Episode 1, Jonnie Hughes, Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey are nominated again for David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, Serena Davies and Helen Thomas are nominated for Extinction: The Facts, and James Reed is nominated for My Octopus Teacher.
In the Best Constructed Documentary Series category, The Choir: Singing for Britain, The Dog House, Grayson’s Art Club and The School That Tried to End Racism all received nominations. All are credited by Grierson to their production teams, and members of Directors UK featured in the production teams of all four programmes. Meanwhile, in Best Documentary Series, members Katherine Patrick and James Newton are nominated for Baby Surgeons: Delivering Miracles and James Bluemel, Jo Abel, Will Anderson and Andrew Palmer receive their second nomination for Once Upon a Time in Iraq. Finally, in the category for Best Documentary Short, members Liana Stewart and Lucy Pilkington are nominated for Take Your Knee Off My Neck: My First Time.
The winners of this year’s awards will be announced at a London event on 10 November. Huge congratulations to all of the above, and to all of this year’s fantastic nominees. You can read the full nominations here.
Have Your Say
Join the discussion on Facebook