Brett Morgen's 'Jane' takes best feature honor from Critics' Choice Documentary Awards

Morgen's film about primatologist Jane Goodall is currently on top of the box office

Brett Morgen's new film on Jane Goodall is tops with moviegoers, and with a major group of awards voters. Jane won best documentary Thursday night at the second annual Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. 

The victory was particularly impressive because Jane was one of 16 films nominated in the best feature category. It beat some prominent contenders including Faces Places by Agnès Varda and JR, Yance Ford's Strong Island and Matthew Heineman's City of Ghosts.

Morgen's film is the top nonfiction movie in theatrical release going into this weekend.

We are so happy to be able to celebrate the supremely talented, leading voices in this golden age of documentary filmmaking and nonfiction television.

​--Joey Berlin, president of the Broadcast Film Critics Association

The Critics' Choice Awards -- presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association -- spread honors across a wide spectrum of nonfiction film.

The award for best director was split between Evgeny Afineevsky of Cries From Syria and Frederick Wiseman, director of Ex Libris: The New York Public Library. 

Director Brett Morgen at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. October 10, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey

Kedi, directed by Ceyda Torun, won the award for best first documentary.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, directed by Steve James, won best political doc.

Bryan Fogel's Icarus claimed the award for best sports documentary. 

Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives was named best music documentary. Chris Perkel directed that film.

In the category of most innovative documentary there was a tie between Dawson City: Frozen Time, directed by Bill Morrison, and Last Men in Aleppo. by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen.

Ken Burns' The Vietnam War earned the award for best documentary series.

Best song in a documentary went to “Jump” from the film Step, written by Raphael Saadiq, Taura Stinson and Laura Karpman , performed by Cynthia Erivo.

​During the ceremony in Brooklyn, Errol Morris received the Critics' Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Filmmaker Joe Berlinger was honored with the Critics' Choice Impact Award.