- Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
- Jessica Kingdon nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Direction
- Jessica Kingdon, Nathan Truesdell nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- Dan Deacon nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
- Jessica Kingdon nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Debut Feature Film
Mesmerizing in its imagery, Ascension is an impressionistic portrait of China’s growing class divide through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. The film is structured in three parts, ascending through the levels of the capitalist structure: workers running factory production, the middle class selling to aspirational consumers, and the elites reveling in a new level of hedonistic enjoyment. In traveling up the rungs of China’s social ladder, we see how each level supports and makes possible the next while recognizing the contemporary “Chinese Dream” remains an elusive fantasy for most.