Firelight Media and Firelight Films are thrilled to announce that 21 projects from our filmmaker community have been nominated for the 2026 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards.

10 nominations are for films supported by Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab; 1 nomination is for a film supported by the PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund; 1 nomination is a for a film supported by the Impact Campaign Fund; 5 nominations are for films by Documentary Lab alumni; and 4 nominations for films directed by and/or executive produced by Firelight Films Co-Founder Stanley Nelson.

View the complete list of nominations below. Congratulations to the filmmakers!

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Best Documentary

• Union, co-directed by Stephen Maing and supported by the Impact Campaign Fund (American Documentary | POV [Level Ground Productions])

Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design: Documentary

• Songs From the Hole, directed by Contessa Gayles and supported by the Documentary Lab and Impact Campaign Fund (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary

• Songs From the Hole, directed by Contessa Gayles and supported by the Documentary Lab and Impact Campaign Fund (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])
• WE WANT THE FUNK! — Independent Lens, directed by Stanley Nelson and co-directed by Nicole London (Firelight Films [ITVS])

Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary

• Driver, directed by Nesa Azimi and supported by the Documentary Lab (American Documentary | POV [Goldfish Films Inc. | Driver Film LLC])
• Made in Ethiopia, directed by Xinyan Yu and supported by the Documentary Lab (American Documentary | POV [Hard Truth Films | Dogwoof | Gobez Media])
• Slumlord Millionaire — Voces, directed by Ellen Martinez & Steph Ching, supported by the PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund & Impact Campaign Fund)(After Spring LLC [Latino Public Broadcasting | Firelight Media | The Center for Asian American Media])

Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary

• The Strike — Independent Lens, directed by JoeBill Muñoz and supported by the Documentary Lab & Impact Campaign Fund)(Latino Public Broadcasting)

Outstanding Direction: Documentary

• The Stringer, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Bao Nguyen (Netflix [LinLay Productions | XRM Media | VII Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Historical Documentary

• Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect, executive produced by Stanley Nelson (Maryland Public Television [The Aggrey Company])

Outstanding Investigative Documentary

• The Stringer, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Bao Nguyen (Netflix [LinLay Productions | XRM Media | VII Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Music Composition: Documentary

• Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, directed by Documentary Lab Alumni Ivy MacDonald and Ivan MacDonald (Thunderheart Films [WETA-TV])
• Songs From the Hole, directed by Contessa Gayles and supported by the Documentary Lab and Impact Campaign Fund (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Research: Documentary

• The Strike — Independent Lens, directed by JoeBill Muñoz and supported by the Documentary Lab & Impact Campaign Fund)(Latino Public Broadcasting)
• The Stringer, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Bao Nguyen (Netflix [LinLay Productions | XRM Media | VII Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary

• Critical Condition: Health in Black America, directed by Stanley Nelson (Nova | GBH [A Nova Production | Firelight Films])

Outstanding Sound: Documentary

• The Strike — Independent Lens, directed by JoeBill Muñoz and supported by the Documentary Lab & Impact Campaign Fund)(Latino Public Broadcasting)
• WE WANT THE FUNK! — Independent Lens, directed by Stanley Nelson and co-directed by Nicole London (Firelight Films [ITVS])

Outstanding Writing: Documentary

• Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, directed by Documentary Lab Alumni Ivy MacDonald and Ivan MacDonald (Thunderheart Films [WETA-TV])
• Songs From the Hole, directed by Contessa Gayles and supported by the Documentary Lab and Impact Campaign Fund (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])
• The Stringer, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Bao Nguyen (Netflix [LinLay Productions | XRM Media | VII Foundation | Netflix])

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For a complete list of nominees, visit theemmys.tv/news/.