Cinema Eye Unveils First Awards Announcements for 2020 Including This Year’s Unforgettables
October 24, 2019 | Los Angeles, California – Cinema Eye Honors kicked off its 2020 season today with the first awards announcements of its 13th year recognizing artistry and innovation in nonfiction filmmaking.
This is the 7th year that Cinema Eye continues its tradition of recognizing the vital contributions of nonfiction film subjects with its list of The Unforgettables. Notable subjects from 15 films are included on this year’s list, both well-known figures (Ask Dr. Ruth’s Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Knock Down the House’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, XY Chelsea’s Chelsea Manning) and less widely-known individuals whose appearances in this year’s documentaries proved to be indelible (Honeyland’s Hatidze Muratova, For Sama’s Waad and Hamza al-Kataeb, The Cave’s Amani Ballour).
The 2020 Unforgettables
- Lea Tsemel
Advocate - The Amazing Johnathan
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary - Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Ask Dr. Ruth - Dr. Amani Ballour
The Cave - Benedetta Barzini
The Disappearance of My Mother - Waad and Hamza al-Kataeb
For Sama - Lucien Greaves
Hail Satan? - Hatidze Muratova
Honeyland - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Knock Down the House - Tracy Edwards
Maiden - Juan Ochoa
Midnight Family - Fatima Hussain and Hassan Fazili
Midnight Traveler - Freddy
Seahorse - Judy Hill
What You Gonna Do When the World’s On Fire? - Chelsea Manning
XY Chelsea
The Unforgettables and other early 2020 Awards announcements were made at the 2nd annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch, with many of the year’s top filmmakers in attendance.
Netflix, 30 for 30, Hulu and Showtime Documentary Films hosted the event at Tartine Bianco in downtown Los Angeles. Nominees for this year’s Nonfiction Feature awards (including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, Direction, Editing, Production, Cinematography, Original Score, Graphic Design, Debut, Spotlight, Nonfiction Short and Audience Choice) will be announced in two weeks, on Thursday, November 7.
The 2020 Cinema Eye Honors will be presented at the 13th Annual Awards Ceremony at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York on Monday, January 6, 2020.
Legacy Award
Koyaanisqatsi
Directed and Produced by Godfrey Reggio
Cinematography Ron Fricke
Editing Ron Fricke and Alton Walpole
Original Score Philip Glass
Heterodox
- Atlantics
Directed by Mati Diop - Honey Boy
Directed by Alma Har’el - The Infiltrators
Directed by Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra - The Souvenir
Directed by Joanna Hogg - Vitalina Varela
Directed by Pedro Costa
Shorts List
- All on a Mardi Gras Day
Directed by Michal Pietrzyk - Crannog
Directed by Isa Roa - Fast Horse
Directed by Alex Lazarowich - Ghosts of Sugar Land
Directed by Bassam Tariq - In the Absence
Directed by Seung Jun-Yi - Life Overtakes Me
Directed by John Haptas & Kristine Samuelson - Lowland Kids
Directed by Sandra Winther - St. Louis Superman
Directed by Smriti Mundhra & Sami Khan - Stay Close
Directed by Luther Clement & Shuhan Fan - Subject to Review
Directed by Theo Anthony
Broadcast Film
- Apollo: Mission to the Moon
Directed by Tom Jennings | National Geographic - At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
Directed by Erin Lee Carr | HBO - Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
Directed by Jonathan Alter, Steven McCarthy and John Block | HBO - Homecoming
Directed by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter | Netflix - Leaving Neverland
Directed by Dan Reed | HBO - The Sentence
Directed by Rudy Valdez | HBO
Outstanding Broadcast Series
- The Case Against Adnan Syed
Directed by Amy Berg | HBO - The Family
Directed by Jesse Moss | Netflix - Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle
Directed by Shan Nicholson and Richard Lopez | SundanceTV - Last Chance U: Season 4
Directed by Greg Whiteley | Netflix - Salt Fat Acid Heat
Directed by Caroline Suh | Netflix - Tricky Dick
Directed by Mary Robertson | CNN
Outstanding Broadcast Editing
- Apollo: Mission to the Moon
David Tillman | National Geographic - Homecoming
Alexander Hammer, Andrew Morrow, Nia Imani and Julian Klincewicz | Netflix - Leaving Neverland
Jules Cornell | HBO - Tricky Dick
Benji Kast, David Mehlman, Diana DiCilio and Seth Skundrick | CNN
Outstanding Broadcast Cinematography
- Homecoming
Mark Ritchie, Julian Klincewicz, Dikayl Rimmasch and Irie Calkins | Netflix - Into the Okavango
Neil Gelinas | National Geographic - Salt Fat Acid Heat
Luke McCoubrey | Netflix - Tigerland
Matt Porwoll and Ross Kauffman| Discovery