Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best Director

|+ Table key

| {{double dagger|alt=Award winner}} Indicates the winner of Best Documentary Feature

!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year

!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)

!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film

!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Ezra|Edelman}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|O.J.: Made in America{{double-dagger}}

| rowspan="6" style="text-align:center"|{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/10/13th-o-j-made-in-america-gleason-lead-nominations-for-first-annual-critics-choice-documentary-awards-1201833876/|title='13th,' 'O.J.: Made In America' & 'Gleason' Lead Nominations For First Critics' Choice Documentary Awards|date=October 10, 2016|accessdate=October 21, 2021|work=Deadline Hollywood|first=Pete|last=Hammond}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/awards/oj-made-in-america-13th-critics-choice-documentary-awards-1201908863/|title='O.J.: Made in America,' '13th' Top First Annual Critics' Choice Documentary Awards|work=Variety|date=November 3, 2016|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first=Kristopher|last=Tapley}}

| The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

| Cameraperson

| Tower

| Gleason

| Life, Animated

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Evgeny|Afineevsky}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Cries from Syria

| rowspan="10" style="text-align:center"|{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/critics-choice-documentary-awards-kedi-leads-nominations-1047766|title=Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: 'Kedi' Leads Nominations|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=October 11, 2017|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first=Kirsten|last=Chuba}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

| Long Strange Trip

| City of Ghosts

| Dawson City: Frozen Time

| California Typewriter

| Chasing Coral

| Beware the Slenderman

| Kedi

| Faces Places

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Morgan|Neville}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Won't You Be My Neighbor?{{double-dagger}}

| rowspan="6" style="text-align:center"|{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/10/2018-critics-choice-documentary-awards-nominees-1202012035/|title=Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominees Announced: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' and 'Wild Wild Country' Lead Nods|date=October 15, 2018|accessdate=October 21, 2021|work=IndieWire|first=Kate|last=Erbland}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2018-critics-choice-documentary-awards-winners-full-list-1153639|title=Mr. Rogers Film 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Tops Critics' Choice Documentary Awards|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=November 10, 2018|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first=Hilary|last=Lewis}}

| Free Solo

| Minding the Gap

| Dark Money

| Hitler's Hollywood

| Three Identical Strangers

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Peter|Jackson}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|They Shall Not Grow Old

| rowspan="7" style="text-align:center"|{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/awards/critics-choice-documentary-awards-nominations-2019-1203369273/|title='Biggest Little Farm' Nabs Seven Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations|work=Variety|date=October 14, 2019|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first=Tim|last=Gray}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2019-critics-choice-documentary-awards-winners-full-list-1250528|title=Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: 'Apollo 11' Tops Winners List|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=November 10, 2019|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first1=Kimberly|last1=Nordyke|first2=Annie|last2=Howard}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|American Factory

| For Sama

| The Biggest Little Farm

| The Cave

| Apollo 11{{double-dagger}}

| One Child Nation

!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year

!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)

!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film

!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Kirsten|Johnson}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Dick Johnson Is Dead{{double-dagger}}

| rowspan="7" style="text-align:center"|{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/critics-choice-documentary-nominations-mr-soul-gunda-crip-camp-and-totally-under-control-lead-the-list-1234603325/|title=Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations: 'Mr. Soul', 'Gunda', 'Crip Camp' And 'Totally Under Control' Top List|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=October 26, 2020|accessdate=October 21, 2021|first=Pete|last=Hammond}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/awards/critics-choice-documentary-awards-dick-johnson-is-dead-1234832932/|title='Dick Johnson Is Dead' Wins Best Feature at Critics Choice Documentary Awards|work=Variety|first=Jordan|last=Moreau|date=November 16, 2020|accessdate=October 21, 2021}}

| Time

| Athlete A

| Gunda

| Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

| John Lewis: Good Trouble

| The Painter and the Thief

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sortname|Elizabeth Chai|Vasarhelyi}} and Jimmy Chin

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|The Rescue

| rowspan="7" style="text-align:center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/critics-choice-documentary-awards-nominations-2021-1235032814/|title=Critics Choice Documentary Awards: 'Summer of Soul' and 'Ascension' Lead With 6 Nominations Each|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Scott|last=Feinberg|date=October 18, 2021|accessdate=October 21, 2021}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised){{double dagger}}

| Becoming Cousteau

| Ascension

| Attica

| Flee

| The Sparks Brothers

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|{{sort|White, Ryan|Ryan White}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"|Good Night Oppy{{double dagger}}

| rowspan="8" style="text-align:center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/good-night-oppy-critics-choice-documentary-awards-winners-1235261090/|title='Good Night Oppy' Wins Top Prize at Critics Choice Documentary Awards|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Kimberly|last=Nordyke|date=November 13, 2022|accessdate=November 13, 2022}}

| George Carlin's American Dream

| Descendant

| Fire of Love

| Sidney

| Moonage Daydream

| All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

| Navalny

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"| {{sort|Guggenheim, Davis|Davis Guggenheim}}

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"| Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie{{double dagger}}

| rowspan="6" style="text-align:center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/awards/results/2023-critics-choice-documentary-awards-winners-list-1234925712/|title=‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ Sweeps the Critics Choice Documentary Awards (Complete Winners List)|website=IndieWire|first=Christian|last=Zilko|date=November 12, 2023|accessdate=November 13, 2023}}

| The Eternal Memory

| Beyond Utopia

| American Symphony

| The Mission

| Occupied City

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"| Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui

| bgcolor="#FAEB86"| Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story{{double dagger}}

| rowspan="6" style="text-align:center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-documentary-awards-2024-nominations-nominees-list-1236031369/|title='Sugarcane' Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Hilary|last=Lewis|date=October 14, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241021010809/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-documentary-awards-2024-nominations-nominees-list-1236031369/|archive-date=October 21, 2024|access-date=November 1, 2024}}{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=Hilary|title=Critics Choice Documentary Awards: 'Super/Man' and 'Will & Harper' Tie for Best Feature|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-documentary-awards-2024-winners-list-1236058141/|date=November 10, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250303232043/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-documentary-awards-2024-winners-list-1236058141/|archive-date=March 3, 2025|access-date=November 11, 2024|website=The Hollywood Reporter}}

| Will & Harper

| Jim Henson Idea Man

| Sugarcane

| Daughters

| The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

! scope="col" width="55" | Nominations

! scope="col" | Director

| Jimmy Chin