In 2000, The Grierson Trust forged a link with the UK Film Council in order to expand and add prestige to the awards.
Sculpted posthumously by Ivor Roberts-Jones, it was struck in a limited edition of 10, with three copies held by the Trust.
[3] Originally, the trophy was given to the award winner for one year before being returned and presented to the next recipient.
[6] His ground-breaking work on the Scottish herring fleet, Drifters, had its premiere in 1929 alongside the first British showing of Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin.
In 1936, he produced the celebrated Night Mail, directed by Harry Watt with script by W.H.
The trust also nurtures factual TV talent via training and mentoring schemes.
[9][10] As of 2023, the Grierson Awards employ a two-stage judging process, with each individual entry reviewed by a minimum of three members of the Trust.
The jurors then decide on the final four shortlisted nominations, and subsequently the winner for each category.
Since 2020, entrants to all but the Best Student Documentary category have been required to provide a statement on diversity and inclusion.
[52][53][54][55][56] This year saw the award for Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue split into two; one for domestic productions and one of international.
The best documentary selected from these four category winners went on to win the overall Premier Grierson Award.
[100][101] The 1999 winners' ceremony was held at The Savoy Hotel in London on 23 March 2000 with Andrew Neil as guest speaker.
[4] Since 2005 an award has been given to the best documentary shown at the annual BFI London Film Festival.