The Bill Snyder Award is given to the movie named Best Documentary Feature as elected by the jury.

Bill Snyder was a moviemaker and Fargo, North Dakota native who founded Bill Snyder Films, the first full-service motion picture production company in the state of North Dakota.

In 2008, the Bill Snyder Award was given to two titles: a short, The Children of Leningradsky by Andrzej Celinski and Hanna Polak, and a feature, Maria Tallchief by Sandra Osawa.

Recipients of the Bill Snyder Award for Best Documentary Feature include:

2024: Greener Pastures (Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian)
2023: JessZilla (Emily Sheskin)
2022: Krimes (Alysa Nahmias)
2021: Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse (Iara Lee)
2020: Balkowitsch (Chelsy Ciavarella and Gregory DeSaye)

2019: Bathtubs Over Broadway (Dava Whisenant)
2018: Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators (Ema Ryan Yamazaki)
2017: Nana (Serena Dykman)
2016: Welcome to Leith (Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker)
2015: The Overnighters (Jesse Moss)
2014: Bending Steel (Dave Carroll)
2013: Informant (Jamie Meltzer)
2012: Age of Champions (Christopher Rufo)
2011: Reel Injun (Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge and Jeremiah Hayes)
2010: Under Our Skin (Andy Abrahams Wilson)

2009: Abel Raises Cain (Jenny Abel and Jeff Hockett)
2008: Maria Tallchief (Sandra Osawa) and The Children of Leningradsky (Andrzej Celinski and Hanna Polak)
2007: Beyond the Call (Adrian Belic)
2006: Walter Anderson: Realizations of an Artist (Winston Riley and David Wolf)
2005: The Watershed (Mary Trunk)
2004: Stage, Screen and Reserve: The Life and Times of Gordon Tootoosis (Fang Fang Gao)