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The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program is awarded to one television documentary or nonfiction series each year.
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Currently held by | Girls State (2024) |
| Website | emmys |
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place:
1970s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Outstanding Achievement in Coverage of Special Events - Individuals[1][note 1] | |||
| The 29th Annual Emmy Awards | Rodger Harbaugh | NBC | ||
1980s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Program[2][note 2] | |||
| Mysteries of the Sea | Bryan Anderson, Bob Elfstrom and Al Giddings | ABC | ||
| 1981 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts[3][note 3] | |||
| The Body Human: The Bionic Breakthrough | John L. Marlow | CBS | ||
| 1982 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[4][note 4] | |||
| Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark | Gil Hubbs and Phillip Schuman | CBS | ||
1990s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[5][note 5] | |||
| Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World | "Strange Relations" | Michael Boland and Vic Sarin | PBS | |
| 1993 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[6][note 6] | |||
| Mysteries Underground (National Geographic) | Lionel Friedberg and Sid Perou | PBS | ||
| 1995 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[7][note 7] | |||
| Baseball | Ken Burns, Allen Moore and Buddy Squires | PBS | ||
| A Century of Women | Ellen Kuras | TBS | ||
| One Survivor Remembers | Andrzej Jeziorek, Erich Roland and Buddy Squires | HBO | ||
| 1996 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[8][note 8] | |||
| The Private Life of Plants | Neil Bromhall, Richard Ganniclift, Richard Kirby, Michael Pitts, Tim Shepherd, Gavin Thurston | TBS | ||
| The Celluloid Closet | Nancy Schreiber | HBO | ||
| 1998 [9] | ||||
| America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Goodbye | Nick Caloyianis, Richard Chisolm, Jerry Cotts, Jon Else, Paul Goldsmith and Buddy Squires | NBC | ||
| Wolves at Our Door | Jim Dutcher | Discovery | ||
| 4 Little Girls | Ellen Kuras | HBO | ||
| 1999 [10] | ||||
| The Farm: Angola, USA | Samuel Henriques and Bob Perrin | A&E | ||
| Avalanche: The White Death | Richard Chisolm, Skip Gray, Cory Taylor and Erich Volkstorf | NBC | ||
2000s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 [11] | ||||
| Raising the Mammoth | Robert Pauly and Didier Portal | Discovery | ||
| American Experience | "New York: A Documentary Film" | Allen Moore and Budyd Squires | PBS | |
| Children in War | Alan Raymond | HBO | ||
| 2001 [12] | ||||
| Land of the Mammoth | John Davey, Didier Portal and Noel Smart | Discovery | ||
| Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks | Henry Adebonojo, Greg Andracke, Hiro Narita and Brian Sewell | HBO | ||
| Jazz | "A Masterpiece by Midnight" | Ken Burns and Buddy Squires | PBS | |
| Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen | Sandra Chandler | HBO | ||
| Survivor | "A Honeymoon or Not" | Len Beard, Tom Cowan, Richard Dallett, Leighton De Barros, Michael Dillon, Scott Duncan, Randall Einhorn, Raj Gibson, Tom Gleeson, Jim Harrington, Mark Hryma, Mark "Ninja" Lynch, Brian Marleau, Ryan Mooney, Paul Moss, Michael Murray, Peter Pescell, Peter Pilafian, Matthew Sohn, John Tattersall, Martin Unversaw and Fed Wetherbee | CBS | |
| 2002 [13] | ||||
| The Blue Planet | "Seas of Life: Ocean World" | Doug Allan, Simon Carroll, Bob Cranston, Mike deGruy, Yuri Farrant, Tom Fitz, Mark Wolf, Simon King, Charles Maxwell, Ian McCarthy, Didier Noirot, Michael Pitts, Rick Rosenthal, Peter Scoones and Paul Stewart | Discovery | |
| American Experience | "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" | Michael Chin, Jon Else and Buddy Squires | PBS | |
| The Human Face with John Cleese | Rajesh Bedi, Bill Broomfield, Patrick Duval, John Halliday, Chris Hartley, John Hooper, John Johnson, Richard Numeroff, Allan Palmer, Jeremy Pollard and Nancy Schiesari | TLC | ||
| In Memorian: New York City, 9/11/01 | Greg Andracke, Jeb Bergh, Edward Marritz and Bob Richman | HBO | ||
| 9/11 | James Hanlon, Gédéon Naudet and Jules Naudet | CBS | ||
| 2003 [14] |
Nova | "Mountain of Ice" | John Armstrong | PBS |
| American Experience | "Daughter from Danang" | Vicente Franco | PBS | |
| Expedition: Bismarck | Vince Pace, Christopher Titus King, Neve Cunningham and D.J. Roller | Discovery | ||
| Journeys with George | Alexandra Pelosi | HBO | ||
| Survivor | "The Importance of Being Earnest" | Mark 'Ninja' Lynch, Mark Hryma, Len Beard, Derek Carver, Paulo Castillo, Tony Croll, Richard Dallett, Michael Dean, Leighton De Barros, Randall Einhorn, Russell Fill, Kevin Garrison, Jim Harrington, Michael Murray, Alan Pierce, Matt Sohn, Jeffery Taylor, John Tattersall, Martin Unversaw and Jeff Watt | CBS | |
| 2004 [15] |
The Blues | "The Soul of a Man" | Lisa Rinzler | PBS |
| The Amazing Race | "I Could Never Have Been Prepared for What I'm Looking at Right Now" | Peter Wery, John Armstrong, Tom Cunningham, Chip Goebert, Per Larsson, Loy Norrix, Dave Ross, Uri Sharon, Scott Shelley, Brett Smith, Jeff Taylor and Scott Walker | CBS | |
| The Apprentice | "Wheeling & Dealing" | Matt Sohn, Mark Hryma, Erica Shusha, Michael Dean, German Abarca Jr., Russell Fill, Jim Harrington, Peter Wery, Jeff Watt, Mande Whitaker, Joshua Mayes, Jorge Alves Jr., Vince Monteleone, Mark 'Ninja' Lynch, David Charles Sullivan, Tony Croll, Rodney Chauvin, Kary D'Alessandro, Tom Magill and David Park | NBC | |
| Jockey | Kate Davis | HBO | ||
| Survivor | "Beg, Barter and Steal" | Mark 'Ninja' Lynch, Michael Murray, Mark Hryma, Derek Lovie, David Parkinson, Michael Applebaum, Jim Harrington, Alan Pierce, Peter Pilafian, George Waterman, Michael Yelseth, Derek Carver, Vince Monteleone, Jeff Watt, Peter Wery, Kevin Garrison, Bennie Cronje, John Tattersall, Russell Fill, Paul Moss, David Chapiro, Paulo Castillo and Justin Evans | CBS | |
| 2005 [16] |
Death in Gaza | James Miller (posthumously) | HBO | |
| The Amazing Race | "We're Moving Up the Food Chain" | Per Larsson, John Armstrong, Sylvestre Campe, Tom Cunningham, Chip Goebert, Lucas Mertes, Dave Ross, Uri Sharon, Scott Shelley, Mark Walker and Scott Walker | CBS | |
| The Contender | "The Final Four" | Michael Murray, Michael Koepke, Scott Acosta, John Armstrong, Paulo Castillo, Rodney Chauvin, Scott Duncan, Russell Fill, Kevin Garrison, Rob Landry, Vince Monteleone, Martin Palafox, Alan Pierce, Jeremy Schneider, Therese Sherman, Raphael Smadja, Chris S. Smith, John Tattersall, Matt Valentine, Jeff Watt, Tyne M. Whitmore and Mande Whitaker | NBC | |
| Living with Wolves | Jim Dutcher | Discovery | ||
| Survivor | "This Has Never Happened Before" | Mark Hryma, Michael Murray, Mark 'Ninja' Lynch, Lance Milbrand, David Parkinson, Justine Evans, Michael Yelseth, Jeffery Taylor, Kent Harvey, Michael Applebaum, Derek Carver, Lee Doig, Jeff Watt, Peter Wery, Matthias Hoffmann, David Chapiro, Bennie Cronje, Leighton De Barros, Russell Fill, Kevin Garrison, Paul Moss, John Tattersall and Paulo Castillo | CBS | |
| 2006 [17] |
Baghdad ER | Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill | HBO | |
| All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise | Maryse Alberti, Sandra Chandler and Beth Wichterich | HBO | ||
| Children of Beslan | Dirk Nel | |||
| I Have Tourette's but Tourette's Doesn't Have Me | Buddy Squires | |||
| Rome: Engineering an Empire | Jeremiah Crowell | History | ||
| 2007 [18] |
Planet Earth | "Pole to Pole" | Doug Allan, Martyn Colbeck, Paul Stewart, Simon King, Michael Kelem and Wade Fairley | Discovery |
| Deadliest Catch | "The Unforgiving Sea" | Doug Stanley, Zac McFarlane, Don Bland, Cameron Glendenning, Todd Stanley and Eric Lange | Discovery | |
| Meerkat Manor | "Family Affair" | John Brown and Robin Smith | Animal Planet | |
| This American Life | "God's Close-Up" | Adam Beckman | Showtime | |
| When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts | Cliff Charles | HBO | ||
| 2008 [19] |
Deadliest Catch | "No Mercy" | Cinematography Team | Discovery |
| Autism: The Musical | Tricia Regan | HBO | ||
| Ice Road Truckers | "Ready to Roll" | Cinematography Team | History | |
| Meerkat Manor | "Journey's End" | Ted Giffords, John Waters and Ralph Bower | Animal Planet | |
| This American Life | "Escape" | Adam Beckman | Showtime | |
| 2009 [20] |
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Laos" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | Travel |
| Deadliest Catch | "Stay Focused or Die" | Cinematography Team | Discovery | |
| Expedition Africa | "Lost in Africa" | Cinematography Team | History | |
| This American Life | "John Smith" | Adam Beckman | Showtime | |
| Whale Wars | "Nothing's Ideal" | Cinematography Team | Animal Planet | |
2010s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 [21] |
Life | "Challenges of Life" | Cinematography Team | Discovery |
| America: The Story of Us | "Division" | Dirk Nel | History | |
| Deadliest Catch | "No Second Chances" | Cinematography Team | Discovery | |
| The National Parks: America's Best Idea | "The Scripture of Nature" | Buddy Squires | PBS | |
| Whale Wars | "The Stuff of Nightmares" | Cinematography Team | Animal Planet | |
| 2011 [22] |
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Haiti" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | Travel |
| American Masters | "Troubadours: Carole King/James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter" | Nicola Marsh and Arlene Nelson | PBS | |
| Gasland | Josh Fox | HBO | ||
| Gettysburg | Michael Snyman | History | ||
| If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise | Cliff Charles | HBO | ||
| Whale Wars | "To the Ends of the Earth" | Cinematography Team | Animal Planet | |
| 2012 [23] |
Frozen Planet | "Ends of the Earth" | Cinematography Team | Discovery |
| Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Mozambique" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | Travel | |
| George Harrison: Living in the Material World | Cinematography Team | HBO | ||
| Prohibition | "A Nation of Drunkards" | Buddy Squires | PBS | |
| Whale Wars | "Race to Save Lives" | Cinematography Team | Animal Planet | |
| 2013 [24] |
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Myanmar" | Todd Liebler, Zach Zamboni and Morgan Fallon | CNN |
| Ethel | Buddy Squires | HBO | ||
| Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden | Frank-Peter Lehmann and Erich Roland | |||
| Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God | Lisa Rinzler | |||
| The Men Who Built America | "A New War Begins" | Richard Lopez | History | |
| 2014 [25] |
The Square | Jehane Noujaim, Muhammad Hamdy, Ahmed Hassan and Cressida Trew | Netflix | |
| Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Punjab" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | CNN | |
| "Tokyo" | Morgan Fallon | |||
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Bill Pope | Fox | |
| Vice | "Greenland Is Melting/Bonded Labor" | Jake Burghart and Jerry Ricciotti | HBO | |
| 2015 [26] |
Virunga | Franklin Dow | Netflix | |
| Citizenfour | Laura Poitras | HBO | ||
| Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Samuel Painter | |||
| The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst | "Chapter 2: Poor Little Rich Boy" | Marc Smerling | ||
| Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck | Jim Whitaker | |||
| 2016 [27] |
Cartel Land | Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwoll | A&E | |
| Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Cuba" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | CNN | |
| He Named Me Malala | Samuel Painter | Nat Geo | ||
| Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures | Mario Panagiotopoulos and Huy Truong | HBO | ||
| What Happened, Miss Simone? | Igor Martinovic and Rachel Morrison | Netflix | ||
| 2017 [28] |
Planet Earth II | "Islands" | Cinematography Team | BBC America |
| Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Rome" | Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | CNN | |
| Chef's Table | "Virgilio Martinez" | Will Basanta | Netflix | |
| O.J.: Made in America | "Part 4" | Nick Higgins | ESPN | |
| Planet Earth II | "Cities" | Cinematography Team | BBC America | |
| 13th | Hans Charles and Kira Kelly | Netflix | ||
| 2018 [29] | ||||
| Jane | Ellen Kuras and Hugo van Lawick | Nat Geo | ||
| Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Lagos" | Morgan Fallon, Jerry Risius and Tarik Hameedi | CNN | |
| Blue Planet II | "The Deep" | Gavin Thurston | BBC America | |
| "One Ocean" | Ted Giffords and Roger Munns | |||
| Chef's Table | "Corrado Assenza" | Adam Bricker | Netflix | |
| 2019 [30] | ||||
| Free Solo | Jimmy Chin, Clair Popkin and Mikey Schaefer | Nat Geo | ||
| Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Bhutan" | Morgan Fallon, Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni | CNN | |
| Our Planet | "Coastal Seas" | Doug Anderson and Gavin Thurston | Netflix | |
| "Jungles" | Alastair MacEwen and Matt Aeberhard | |||
| "One Planet" | Jamie McPherson and Roger Horrocks | |||
2020s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 [31] | ||||
| The Cave | Muhammed Khair Al Shami, Ammar Suleiman and Mohammed Eyad | Nat Geo | ||
| American Factory | Erick Stoll and Aubrey Keith | Netflix | ||
| Apollo 11 | Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins | CNN | ||
| Becoming | Nadia Hallgren | Netflix | ||
| Sea of Shadows | Richard Ladkani | Nat Geo | ||
| Serengeti | "Rebirth" | Richard Jones, Michael W. Richards, Warren Samuels and Matthew Goodman | Discovery | |
| 2021 [32] | ||||
| David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet | Gavin Thurston | Netflix | ||
| City So Real | "Blood Sport" | Jackson James and Steve James | Nat Geo | |
| Rebuilding Paradise | Lincoln Else | |||
| Dick Johnson Is Dead | Kirsten Johnson and John Wakayama Carey | Netflix | ||
| The Social Dilemma | John Behrens and Jonathan Pope | |||
| Secrets of the Whales | "Ocean Giants" | Brian Armstrong, Hayes Baxley and Andy Mitchell | Disney+ | |
| 2022 [33] | ||||
| 100 Foot Wave | "Chapter IV – Dancing with God" | Mike Prickett and Laurent Pujol | HBO | |
| The Andy Warhol Diaries | "Collab: Andy & Basquiat" | Wolfgang Held | Netflix | |
| McCartney 3,2,1 | "These Things Bring You Together" | Stuart Winecoff | Hulu | |
| Our Great National Parks | "Chilean Patagonia" | Christiaan Muñoz-Salas and Ignacio Walker | Netflix | |
| Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy | "Venice" | Andrew Muggleton | CNN | |
| We Feed People | Kris Kaczor | Disney+ | ||
| 2023 [34] | ||||
| 100 Foot Wave | "Chapter VI – Force Majeure" | Antoine Chicoye, Mikey Corker, Vincent Kardasik, Alexandre Lesbats, Chris Smith, Laurent Pujol, João Vidinha and Michael Darrigade | HBO | |
| Secrets of the Elephants | "Desert" | Toby Strong, James Boon and Bob Poole | Nat Geo | |
| The 1619 Project | "Justice" | Jerry Henry | Hulu | |
| Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy | "Calabria" | Andrew Muggleton | CNN | |
| Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie | C. Kim Miles, Clair Popkin and Julia Liu | Apple TV+ | ||
| The Territory | Alex Pritz and Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wa | Nat Geo | ||
| 2024 [35] | ||||
| Girls State | Laura Hudock, Laela Kilbourn, Daniel Carter, Erynn Patrick Lamont, Keri Oberly, Thorsten Thielow and Martina Radwan | Apple TV+ | ||
| Beckham | "The Kick" | Tim Cragg | Netflix | |
| Jim Henson Idea Man | Igor Martinovic and Vanja Cernjul | Disney+ | ||
| Our Planet II | "Chapter 1: World on the Move" | Brad Bestelink and Kyle McBurnie | Netflix | |
| Planet Earth III | "Extremes" | Luke Nelson and John Shier | BBC America | |
- 2 wins
|
|
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominees did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominees did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. No nominee met the benchmark and no award was given.
- These programs were nominated as Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
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