| Name |
Year |
Director |
Jurors |
| Seventeen |
1985 |
Joel DeMott and Jeff Kreines |
Julia Reichert, David Fanning, Ron Mann and Dennis O'Rourke |
| Private Conversations |
1986 |
Christian Blackwood |
Julia Reichert, David Fanning, Ron Mann and Dennis O'Rourke |
| Sherman's March |
1987 |
Ross McElwee |
Sheila Benson, Peter Biskind, Robert Gardner, David R. Loxton and Jayne Loader |
| Beirut: The Last Home Movie |
1988 |
Jennifer Fox |
Richard Leacock, Lourdes Portillo, Tim Cowling and Christian Blackwood |
| For All Mankind |
1989 |
Al Reinert |
Karen Cooper, Elliot Caplan, Nick Hart-Williams, Dennis O'Rourke and Jean-Pierre Gorin |
| H-2 Worker |
1990 |
Stephanie Black |
Susan Frömke, Christine Choy, Michael Renov, Edward Lachman and Orlando Bagwell |
| Water and Power |
1990 |
Pat O'Neill |
Susan Frömke, Christine Choy, Michael Renov, Edward Lachman and Orlando Bagwell |
| American Dream |
1991 |
Barbara Kopple |
St. Claire Bourne, Jill Godmilow, Marcel Ophüls, Amy Taubin |
| Paris Is Burning |
1991 |
Jennie Livingston |
St. Claire Bourne, Jill Godmilow, Marcel Ophüls, Amy Taubin |
| A Brief History of Time |
1992 |
Errol Morris |
Stephanie Black, William Greaves, Isaac Julien and Berenice Reynauld |
| Finding Christa |
1992 |
Camille Billops and James Hatch |
Stephanie Black, William Greaves, Isaac Julien and Berenice Reynauld |
| Children of Fate: Life and Death in a Sicilian Family |
1993 |
Andrew Young, Susan Todd, Michael Roemer and Robert M. Young |
Rob Epstein, Barbara Kopple, Ron Mann and Renee Tajima-Pena |
| Silverlake Life: The View from Here |
1993 |
Tom Joslin and Peter Friedman |
Rob Epstein, Barbara Kopple, Ron Mann and Renee Tajima-Pena |
| Freedom on My Mind |
1994 |
Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford |
Bill Couterie, Barbara Hammer, Chris Hegedus, Betsy McLane and Marco Williams |
| Crumb |
1995 |
Terry Zwigoff |
Pat Aufderheide, Susan Todd, Ross McElwee, Arthur Dong and Peter Gilbert |
| Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern |
1996 |
Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher |
Joan Churchill, Ada Gay Griffin, Alan Raymond, Ellen Schneider and Theodore Thomas |
| Girls Like Us |
1997 |
Jane Wagner and Tina Di Feliciantonio |
Joe Berlinger, Jerret Engle, Deborah Hoffmann, Michael Lumpkin and Lourdes Portillo |
| The Farm: Angola, USA |
1998 |
Jonathan Stack and Liz Garbus |
Steven Ascher, Nick Broomfield, Christine Choy, Lisa Leeman and Pamela Yates |
| Frat House |
1998 |
Todd Phillips |
Steven Ascher, Nick Broomfield, Christine Choy, Lisa Leeman and Pamela Yates |
| American Movie: The Making of Northwestern |
1999 |
Chris Smith |
Kirby Dick, Tina Di Feliciantonio, Annie Frazier Henry, Michel Negroponte and Raymond Telles |
| Long Night's Journey Into Day |
2000 |
Frances Reid and Deborah Hoffmann |
Ally Derks, Jon Else, Vikram Jayanti, Jennifer Maytorena Taylor and Jessica Yu |
| Southern Comfort |
2001 |
Kate Davis |
Randy Barbato, R.J. Cutler, Anne Makepeace, Merata Mita and Freida Lee Mock |
| Daughter From Danang |
2002 |
Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco |
Jeffrey Friedman, Jytte Jensen, Stanley Nelson, Alanis Obomsawin and Frances Reid |
| Capturing the Friedmans |
2003 |
Andrew Jarecki |
Nanette Burstein, Susan Frömke, Avon Kirkland, Lesli Klainberg and Doug Pray |