You Can See Everything was the biggest winner at the 11th Critics Choice Documentary Awards, taking home five trophies, including Best Documentary Feature.
Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the film won in every category in which it was nominated at the ceremony held in New York on 8 November 2026. Its success was one of the night’s major highlights, but it was not the only film to attract attention.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem also had a strong showing, collecting three awards, while several other documentaries received recognition across categories covering music, politics, history and sport.
The results highlighted a range of stories and filmmaking approaches recognised by documentary critics this year.
Treasure Ayanfe Adetula
What Did You Can See Everything Win?
The film collected awards for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Score. Fielder and Oppenheim shared the directing award, while David Bolen, Adam Locke-Norton and Ari Balouzian were recognised for cinematography, editing and music respectively.
The sweep was announced at the 11th Critics Choice Documentary Awards, organised by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). The ceremony took place at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, with television host and producer Ross Mathews presenting the event.
Winning all five nominations is significant because the film did not only take the headline prize. Its recognition across directing and technical categories suggests that voters responded to how the story was constructed and presented, not just its subject.
Why Is the Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Attracting Attention?
You Can See Everything follows Holmes in the 34 days before she reported to prison in 2023. The former Theranos founder invited the filmmakers into her home, giving them access to her daily life with her partner, Billy Evans. What began as a portrait of a disgraced businesswoman developed into a three-year documentary project.
Holmes was sentenced to 135 months in prison in November 2022 after being convicted of defrauding investors in Theranos, the blood-testing company she founded. The US Department of Justice said the fraud involved hundreds of millions of dollars.
The film's appeal comes partly from the unusual access it secured, but also from the questions it raises about whether a camera can reveal the truth about someone who has spent years managing their public image. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman described it as a film made with “a spirit of true inquiry”, while noting its unusual blend of reality television and documentary storytelling in his review collected by Rotten Tomatoes.
Its cinema performance has also helped it stand out. The film has earned approximately $80 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, an unusually strong result for a documentary.
This commercial success, alongside its awards recognition, shows how a well-known business scandal can still draw audiences when filmmakers find a fresh way to examine it.
Which Other Films Won at the Ceremony?
David Greaves’ Once Upon a Time in Harlem was the ceremony's other major winner, taking three awards. It won Best First Documentary Feature, Best Historical Documentary and Best Archival Documentary, recognising both Greaves’ work and the film's use of historical material.
Other winners covered a wide range of subjects. Alex Gibney's Musk won Best Biographical Documentary, while NAZA received Best Political Documentary. John Wilson's The History of Concrete won Best Narration for its writing and performance, and Baz Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert was named Best Music Documentary.
Subscribe for free to continue reading this article
Subscribe SubscribeAlready have an account? Log in
