Best Documentary winner

ADVOCATE
(Philippe Bellaiche + Rachel Leah Jones, 2019)
A portrait of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli human rights lawyer who has represented political prisoners for nearly 50 years.
Outstanding Social Issue Documentary

THE RESCUE LIST
(Alyssa Fedele + Zachary Fink, 2018)
Social workers help two children rescued from childhood enslavement on Ghana’s Lake Volta, and their touching story of friendship and courage.
Two SDFF alumni films, Advocate (SDFF 2020) and The Rescue List (SDFF 2019), won News & Documentary Emmy’s for Best Documentary and Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, respectively. Both films were nominated through their appearance on PBS’s POV, which won three Emmys total, and contributed to PBS’s overall 10 Emmy wins, the highest of any other network.