Ken Burns to Receive Impact Award at Critics Choice Documentary Awards

Ken Burns has been tapped to receive the Impact Award at the 10th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, set to take place Nov. 9 in New York.

The Impact Award recognizes “documentarians whose work has sparked meaningful dialogue, inspired action and driven tangible societal change — an achievement that Burns’ extraordinary career exemplifies,” according to the Critics Choice Association.

Also at the ceremony, taking place at the Edison Ballroom, filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady will receive the Pennebaker Award (formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award). Named in honor of D.A. Pennebaker, the award is presented by Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s widow and partner, to “filmmakers whose careers have made a profound and lasting contribution to the art of the documentary.”

“As we mark our 10th year of celebrating excellence in nonfiction film and television, we are honored to recognize these extraordinary artists who reflect the breadth of the documentary form,” said Christopher Campbell, vp documentary at the Critics Choice Association. “Ken Burns continues to inspire, educate, and enlighten with The American Revolution, his latest historical epic, while Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady carry forward the tradition of direct cinema with their own distinctive vision, most recently in their feature Folktales.”

Burns has been making documentary films for almost 50 years. His credits include The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The War, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Prohibition, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, The Vietnam War, Country Music, The U.S. and the Holocaust, The American Buffalo and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. Upcoming film projects include The American Revolution, Emancipation to Exodus and LBJ & the Great Society. During his career, he’s earned 17 Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. 

Ewing and Grady are the co-directors of Oscar nominee Jesus Camp, Emmy nominee The Boys of Baraka, Peabody Award winner 12th & Delaware, Emmy winner Detropia, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, One of Us, Love Fraud and Endangered. Their latest feature, Folktales, premiered at Sundance 2025 and is being released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures. They are the co-owners of the Brooklyn-based production company Loki Films.

These honors will be presented alongside awards in 18 categories at a gala hosted by actor-writer-producer Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show, Evil). The awards will honor docs released in theaters, on TV and across major digital platforms.

Submissions are open through Sept. 19, with nominations set to be unveiled Oct. 20. Nominations are determined by the voting of qualified CCA members with expertise in the documentary field. 

Eligible documentaries must have premiered between Jan. 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.  Documentaries should have premiered theatrically (or be scheduled to premiere) during that period or been made available via broadcast, cable or digital services.