AMC+’s Mark Ruffalo-Produced ‘Lakota Nation vs. United States’ Lands Top Prize at Documentary Emmys
AMC+’s “Lakota Nation vs. United States” landed two of the top awards on Thursday at the documentary portion of the News & Documentary Emmys, landing the kudos for best documentary and for outstanding direction: documentary. The doc was directed by Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli and executive produced by Mark Ruffalo and Marisa Tomei.
It was also a good night for Netflix, which landed six wins total — the most of any network or platform. Netflix’s wins included two for “World War II: From the Front Lines,” as well as for “Victim/Suspect,” “American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing,” “Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul” and “Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food.”
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“Lakota Nation vs. United States,” “World War II: From the Front Lines” and PBS’ “Frontline” were the only titles to pick up more than one Emmy on the evening. PBS’ wins were split between two for “Frontline,” one for “POV” and one for “Independent Lens.”
Meanwhile, Nat Geo — which was one of the top awards winners at Wednesday’s news portion of the News & Documentary Emmys, also did well with the docs — landing five, the most behind only Netflix. Nat Geo’s wins included “Science Fair: The Series,” “Path of the Panther,” “Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony,” “Incredible Animal Journeys” and “JFK: One Day in America.”
Thursday’s ceremony also honored documentarian/director Alex Gibney with a lifetime achievement award. W. Kamau Bell, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning stand-up comedian, hosted 45th Annual Documentary Emmy Awards.
On Wednesday, CNN led the news portion of the two-night event with 11 wins, including five for “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” while ABC and Nat Geo both landed five wins each (ABC News itself had eight, including three credited to Hulu). Nat Geo’s “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” also earned five Emmys, tied with Cooper for the most on the night. Longtime broadcast journalist and author Jane Pauley, currently the host of “CBS News Sunday Morning,” received a lifetime achievement award on Wednesday’s news-focused ceremony.
The 45th annual News & Documentary Emmys, administered by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, took place over two nights (Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Thursday, Sept. 26) at New York’s Palladium Times Square. It is streamed on NATAS’ viewing app.
As Variety’s Addie Morfoot described last year, “Lakota Nation vs. United States” chronicles the Lakota Indians’ enduring quest to reclaim South Dakota’s Black Hills, sacred land stolen by the American government beginning in 1876.
Divided into three sections: extermination, assimilation and reparations, the two-hour docu is told from the point of the Lakota people and recounts how the Black Hills were taken in violation of various treaty agreements while the Indigenous community who lived there was simultaneously exploited and displaced. In addition to covering the ongoing fight to reclaim control of the Black Hills, the docu investigates the many ways that the U.S. has ignored, overlooked and failed to grapple with the historical wrongs done to Indigenous communities across the country.
Here are this year’s winners:
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover — Frontline (PBS)
Free Chol Soo Lee — Independent Lens (PBS)
Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (freedomonfire.film) [Miraflores Films | Winter on Fire | MakeMake Entertainment | PFX | 1+1 MEDIA |Diamond Docs | Donbas Frontliner | Donetsk Institute of Information]
Great Photo, Lovely Life: Facing a Family’s Secrets (HBO | Max)
Hidden Letters — Independent Lens (PBS) [ITVS]
January 6th (Discovery+) [Discovery+ | Propagate]
WINNER: Lakota Nation vs. United States (AMC+) [Unceded Films, LLC | IFC Films]
Mourning In Lod (Showtime) [MTV Documentary Films | Medalia Productions]
Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning (HBO | Max) [HBO Documentary Films | The Boston Globe | Little Room Films]
The Stroll (HBO | Max) [HBO Documentary Films]
OUTSTANDING SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Birthing A Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney (Paramount+)
Deciding Vote — The New Yorker Documentary (The New Yorker)
Last Song From Kabul (Paramount+)
WINNER: The Silent Witness (lifestories.org/films-series/the-silent-witness)
The Takeover (Field of Vision)
OUTSTANDING CURRENT AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY
Loudmouth (BET) [Naked Edge Films | Get Lifted Film Co. | Group Effort Films |Massenburg Media]
Love in the Time of Fentanyl —Independent Lens (PBS) [ITVS]
Mourning In Lod (Showtime) [MTV Documentary Films | Medalia Productions]
No Accident (HBO | Max) [McGee Media | Just Films/The Ford Foundation | Topic Studios]
WINNER: Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Netflix) [Campfire Studios | Atlas Films]
OUTSTANDING POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court — Frontline (PBS)
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court (Showtime) [Trilogy Films]
Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely — American Masters (PBS) [Salty Features | American Masters Pictures | Thirteen/WNET]
Giuliani: What Happened to America’s Mayor (CNN)
Superpower (Paramount+) [Projected Picture Works | Public School Productions | Aldamisa Entertainment |Vice Studios]
OUTSTANDING SOCIAL ISSUE DOCUMENTARY
Anonymous Sister (anonymoussister.com) [Big Mouth Productions | Vulcan Productions]
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (HBO | Max)
WINNER: Eat Your Catfish — POV (PBS) [Zela Film | American Documentary, POV]
Every Body (NBC) [NBC News Studios |BetterThanFiction Productions]
Sound of the Police (Hulu) [ABC News Studios | Firelight Films]
OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTARY
Crush (Paramount+) [Triage Entertainment | All Rise Films |See It Now Studios]
WINNER: Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus — Frontline (PBS) [Frontline | Forbidden Film | the Forbidden Stories consortium]
Savior Complex (HBO | Max)[Latchkey Films]
Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America (Netflix) [Luminant Media |Grain Media |Insight Films]
Victim/Suspect (Netflix) [Motto Pictures, Center for Investigative Reporting Studios]
OUTSTANDING HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
America and The Taliban — Frontline (PBS)
WINNER: Free Chol Soo Lee — Independent Lens (PBS)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic) [72 Films | National Geographic]
To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb —MSNBC Films (MSNBC) [NBC News Studios]
World War II: From the Front Lines (Netflix) [72 Films]
OUTSTANDING ARTS AND CULTURE DOCUMENTARY
A Song Film By Kishi Bashi – ‘Omoiyari’ (Paramount+) [Omoiyari, LLC | HappyOkay Films |Dialogue Pictures |Movement Content]
The Legacy of J. Dilla — The New York Times Presents (FX) [The New York Times | Left/Right (a North Road company)]
Lift (liftdocumentary.com) [Beaufort 9 Films]
WINNER: Little Richard: I Am Everything (CNN Films | Max) [Bungalow Media + Entertainment]
Willie Nelson & Family (Paramount+) [MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Sight Unseen, Blackbird]
OUTSTANDING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DOCUMENTARY
The Battle to Beat Malaria — Nova (PBS) [Wingspan Productions, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Nova/GBH]
Cosmic Time Machine — Unknown (Netflix)
Encounters (Netflix) [Amblin Television, Boardwalk Pictures, VICE Studios]
Human Footprint (PBS) [Day’s Edge Productions]
WINNER: Science Fair: The Series (National Geographic) [Muck Media]
OUTSTANDING NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Evolution Earth (PBS) [Passion Planet | PBS | Arte France| Love Nature]
The Hummingbird Effect — Nature (PBS) [Coneflower Productions | The WNET Group | Terra Mater Studios]
Incredible Animal Journeys (National Geographic) [Plimsoll Productions]
WINNER: Path of the Panther (National Geographic) [Grizzly Creek Films | Wildpath | National Geographic]
Soul of the Ocean — Nature (PBS) [Howard Hall Productions | The WNET Group | Terra Mater Studios |Mark Fletcher Productions]
OUTSTANDING BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DOCUMENTARY
Age of Easy Money — Frontline (PBS)
WINNER: Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (Netflix)
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover — Frontline (PBS)
Nothing Lasts Forever (Showtime) [Kilo Films]
Working: What We Do All Day (Netflix) [ Higher Ground | Concordia Studio]
OUTSTANDING CRIME AND JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY
Amber: The Girl Behind the Alert (Peacock) [Lusid Media]
Chowchilla (CNN Films | Max) [Zipper Bros Films | Sutter Road Picture Company]
El Equipo — Independent Lens (PBS) [Quiet Pictures LLC]
WINNER: Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning (HBO | Max) [HBO Documentary Films | The Boston Globe | Little Room Films]
Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn (Apple TV+)
OUTSTANDING WRITING: DOCUMENTARY
Exposing Parchman (A&E) [Good Caper Content | Roc Nation | Red Summer TV ]
Great Photo, Lovely Life: Facing a Family’s Secrets (HBO | Max)
WINNER: Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony (National Geographic) [Steve Rotfeld Productions]
Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza — Frontline (PBS)
The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+)
OUTSTANDING RESEARCH: DOCUMENTARY
Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus — Frontline (PBS) [Frontline | Forbidden Film | the Forbidden Stories consortium]
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic) [72 Films | National Geographic]
Take Care of Maya (Netflix) [Story Syndicate | Wise Fool]
The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu) [ABC News Studios | Trilogy Films]
WINNER: Victim/Suspect (Netflix) [Motto Pictures | Center for Investigative Reporting Studios]
World War II: From the Front Lines (Netflix) [72 Films]
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION: DOCUMENTARY
Another Body (anotherbodyfilm.com) [WILLA | Murmuration Productions | Remarkably Calm Productions]
WINNER: Lakota Nation vs. United States (AMC+) [Unceded Films, LLC, | IFC Films]
The Mission (National Geographic) [National Geographic | Lightbox | Mile End Films]
Take Care of Maya (Netflix) [Story Syndicate | Wise Fool]
Victim/Suspect (Netflix) [Motto Pictures | Center for Investigative Reporting Studios]
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY: DOCUMENTARY
Incredible Animal Journeys (National Geographic) [Plimsoll Productions]
The Lost Pyramid — Unknown (Netflix) [A Story Syndicate]
WINNER: Murder In Big Horn (Showtime) [Fairhaven]
The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+) [Ink Factory | Fourth Floor | Jago Films | Storyteller Productions | 127 Wall]
Swift Justice — The New Yorker Documentary (The New Yorker)
OUTSTANDING EDITING: DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (Netflix)
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (HBO | Max)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (CNN Films | Max) [Bungalow Media + Entertainment]
Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning (HBO | Max) [HBO Documentary Films | The Boston Globe | Little Room Films]
The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+) [Ink Factory | Fourth Floor | Jago Films | Storyteller Productions | 127 Wall]
OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN: DOCUMENTARY
Ancient Earth — Nova (PBS) [BBC Studios | Nova | WGBH]
Neighbour Abdi — Op-Docs (The New York Times)
Nixon’s Reversal (Ovid) [Hi-Lo | Lost Nation Pictures]
Who Killed Robert Wone? (Peacock) [Jupiter Entertainment]
WINNER: World War II: From the Front Lines (Netflix) [72 Films]
OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION: DOCUMENTARY
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (HBO | Max)
Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (freedomonfire.film) [Miraflores Films, Winter on Fire, MakeMake Entertainment, PFX, 1+1MEDIA, Diamond Docs, Donbas Frontliner, Donetsk Institute of Information]
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic) [72 Films]
Navajo Police: Class 57 (HBO | Max) [Concordia Studios]
WINNER: World War II: From the Front Lines (Netflix) [72 Films]
OUTSTANDING SOUND: DOCUMENTARY
Big Beasts (Apple TV+) [Plimsoll Productions in association with Apple]
Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (freedomonfire.film) [Miraflores Films | Winter on Fire | MakeMake Entertainment | PFX |1+1 MEDIA |Diamond Docs | Donbas Frontliner | Donetsk Institute of Information]
WINNER: Incredible Animal Journeys (National Geographic) [Plimsoll Productions]
The Legacy of J. Dilla — The New York Times Presents (FX) [The New York Times | Left/Right (a North Road company)]
The Lost Pyramid — Unknown (Netflix) [Story Syndicate]
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DIRECTION: DOCUMENTARY
Homicide Hunter: The Man With No Face (ID: Investigation Discovery) [Jupiter Entertainment]
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic)
WINNER: To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb — MSNBC Films (MSNBC) [NBC News Studios]
Who Killed Robert Wone? (Peacock) [Jupiter Entertainment]
Wild Crime: Blood Mountain (Hulu) [Lone Wolf Media, (ABC) News Studios]
OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION / SET DECORATION / SCENIC DESIGN: DOCUMENTARY
Burden of Proof (HBO | Max)
Chowchilla (CNN Films | Max) [Zipper Bros Films | Sutter Road Picture Company]
The Enfield Poltergeist (Apple TV+) [MetFilm | Concordia Studio | Apple]
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (Netflix) [RadicalMedia]
WINNER: Stan Lee (Disney+) [Marvel Studios]
Who Killed Robert Wone? (Peacock) [Jupiter Entertainment]
OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: DOCUMENTARY
Giuliani: What Happened to America’s Mayor (CNN)
Incredible Animal Journeys (National Geographic) [Plimsoll Productions]
WINNER: JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic) [72 Films]
The Mission (National Geographic) [National Geographic | Lightbox | Mile End Films] [ITVS]
Teaser: Free Chol Soo Lee on Independent Lens — Independent Lens (PBS)
Trailer: The Lady Bird Diaries (Hulu) [ABC News Studios | Jump Cut]
OUTSTANDING REGIONAL DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: “The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Then and Now” (WMAQ)
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