2016 saw Cinema Eye returning to the Museum of the Moving Image for the fifth straight year. Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen became the first filmmakers to win a second Cinema Eye Honor for Outstanding Feature, following up their 2014 honor for The Act of Killing with the award for The Look of Silence. The film also received awards for Direction for Oppenheimer and Production for Sørensen, her second. Chris King won his third Cinema Eye Honor for Editing, following up wins for Exit Through the Gift Shop and Senna with this year’s award for his work on Amy. There was a tie for Cinematography honors between Cartel Land‘s Matt Heineman and Matt Porwoll and Meru‘s Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. Laurie Anderson won the Original Score prize for Heart of a Dog; Crystal Moselle received Outstanding Debut for The Wolfpack. The Legacy Award went to Chris Smith’s American Movie. Filmmaker Steve James hosted the show and presenters included Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus, DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Martha Shane and Lana Wilson.
Outstanding Achievement
in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
-
Amy
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Produced by James Gay-Rees -
Cartel Land
Directed by Matthew Heineman
Produced by Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin -
Democrats
Directed by Camilla Nielsson
Produced by Henrik Veileborg -
Listen to Me Marlon
Directed by Stevan Riley
Produced by John Battsek, George Chignell and R.J. Cutler -
Winner
The Look of Silence
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen -
The Wolfpack
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Produced by Crystal Moselle and Izabella Tzenkova
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
-
Matthew Heineman
For Cartel Land
-
Kim Longinotto
For Dreamcatcher
-
Laurie Anderson
For Heart of a Dog
-
Frederick Wiseman
For In Jackson Heights
-
Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker,
David Usui and Ben WuFor In Transit
-
Winner
Joshua Oppenheimer
For The Look of Silence
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
-
Winner
Chris King
For Amy
-
Aaron Wickenden and Eileen Meyer
For Best of Enemies
-
James Scott
For How to Change the World
-
Brett Morgen and Joe Beshenkovsky
For Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
-
Stevan Riley
For Listen to Me Marlon
Outstanding Achievement in Production
-
Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin
For Cartel Land
-
Henrik Veileborg
For Democrats
-
Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright and Kristen Vaurio
For Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
-
Winner
Signe Byrge Sørensen
For The Look of Silence
-
Jimmy Chin, Chai Vasarhelyi and Shannon Etheridge
For Meru
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
-
Winner
Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwoll
For Cartel Land
-
Lars Skree
For The Look of Silence
-
Winner
Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk
For Meru
-
Ewan McNicol
For Uncertain
-
Bill Ross and Turner Ross
For Western
Audience Choice
-
Amy
Directed by Asif Kapadia
-
Best of Enemies
Directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon
-
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Directed by Alex Gibney
-
The Hunting Ground
Directed by Kirby Dick
-
Iris
Directed by Albert Maysles
-
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
Directed by Brett Morgen
-
Winner
Meru
Directed by Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi
-
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Directed by Liz Garbus
-
Where to Invade Next
Directed by Michael Moore
-
The Wolfpack
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
-
Betzabé Garcia
For Kings of Nowhere
-
Brad Barber and Scott Christopherson
For Peace Officer
-
Frida Barkfors and Lasse Barkfors
For Pervert Park
-
Chad Gracia
For The Russian Woodpecker
-
Ewan McNicol and Anna Sandilands
For Uncertain
-
Winner
Crystal Moselle
For The Wolfpack
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
-
Jackson Greenberg and Scott Salinas
For Cartel Land
-
Winner
Laurie Anderson
For Heart of a Dog
-
J. Ralph
For Meru
-
Jonathan Snipes
For The Nightmare
-
Casey McAllister
For Western
Outstanding Achievement
in Graphic Design or Animation
-
Flicker Lab
For Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
-
Laurie Anderson
For Heart of a Dog
-
Winner
Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsing
For Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
-
Syd Garon
For The Nightmare
-
Ryan Green and Josh Larson
For Thank You for Playing
Spotlight Award
-
Almost There
Directed by Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden
-
Barge
Directed by Ben Powell
-
Field Niggas
Directed by Khalik Allah
-
Frame by Frame
Directed by Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli
-
(T)error
Directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe
-
Winner
Toto and His Sisters
Directed by Alexandre Nanău
Outstanding Achievement
in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
-
Deep Web
Directed by Alex Winter
Produced by Marc Schiller, Alex Winter and Glen Zipper
For EPIX: Executive Producers Jill Burkhart and Ross Bernard -
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Directed by Alex Gibney
Produced by Alex Gibney, Kristen Vaurio and Lawrence Wright
For HBO Documentary Films: Supervising Producer Sara Bernstein and Executive Producer Sheila Nevins -
Outbreak
Directed by Dan Edge
Produced by Dan Edge and Sasha Joelle Achilli
For Frontline/PBS: Coordinating Producer Carla Borras and Executive Producers Raney Aronson-Rath and David Fanning -
Winner
Private Violence
Directed and Produced by Cynthia Hill
For HBO Documentary Films: Senior Producer Nancy Abraham and Executive Producer Sheila Nevins -
Whitey: The United States of America vs. James J. Bulger
Directed by Joe Berlinger
Produced by Joe Berlinger and Caroline Suh
For CNN Films: Supervising Producer Courtney Sexton and Executive Producers Vinnie Malhotra and Amy Entelis
Outstanding Achievement
in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
-
The Breath
Directed by Fabian Kaiser
-
Winner
Buffalo Juggalos
Directed by Scott Cummings
-
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Directed by Adam Benzine
-
The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul
Directed by Kitty Green
-
Winner
Hotel 22
Directed by Elizabeth Lo
Heterodox Award
-
Arabian Nights: Volume One (The Restless One)
Directed by Miguel Gomes
-
God Bless the Child
Directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
-
Tangerine
Directed by Sean Baker
-
Winner
Taxi
Directed by Jafar Panahi
-
The Tribe
Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
Legacy Award
-
Winner
American Movie
Directed by Chris Smith