News

The Cinema Eye Honors, which recognize outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking, has announced its full slate of nominees for its 14th Annual Awards Ceremony, which will be held, virtually this year, on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.

Time, Garrett Bradley’s intimate portrait of a family’s struggle over years of incarceration, was nominated for six Cinema Eye Honors, including Outstanding Feature, Direction, Editing, Score and Debut. Alexander Nanau’s Collective and Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda had four nominations and joined Time in being nominated for Feature, Direction and Editing.

Those three films were joined in the Outstanding Feature category by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ Boys State and Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead. Johnson, Kossakovsky McBaine, Moss and Nanau are all previous Cinema Eye nominees, with Johnson winning two Honors in 2017 for her debut film Cameraperson, and Nanau winning the Spotlight Award in 2016 for Toto and His Sisters. Time is Bradley’s debut feature, but her short documentary The Earth is Humming was on the Cinema Eye Shorts List in 2019.

David France’s Welcome to Chechnya also received four nominations, including three in the Broadcast categories for Outstanding Film, Editing and Cinematography.

Boys State, Dick Johnson is Dead, Liz Garbus’ HBO series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s The Truffle Hunters were each nominated for three awards. Rosi received his second consecutive nominations for Outstanding Direction and Cinematography. He was first nominated in 2017 for Fire at Sea.

It’s the second straight year that Kellen Quinn has been nominated for Outstanding Feature. Last year he was nominated as the producer of Midnight Family and he is up this year as one of the producers of Time. This marks the third time that Gunda director Kossakovsky was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography. He was a nominee last year for Aquarela and in 2013 for ¡Vivan las Antipodas!.

Marilyn Ness, a Cinema Eye winner for Cameraperson, is nominated again this year for Dick Johnson is Dead, along with producer Katy Chevigny, who was nominated for Outstanding Production for The E-Team in 2015. Boys State helmers McBaine and Moss were nominees in 2015 for their film, The Overnighters.

Legendary documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman received his seventh Cinema Eye nomination for the editing on his latest film, City Hall. Filmmaker Bill Ross also received his seventh nod, this year in the Heterodox category for Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, his latest collaboration with brother Turner Ross, who received his fifth nomination. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets composer Casey Wayne McAllister was nominated for Original Score for the second time, his first being for the Ross Brothers’ Western.

Elizabeth Lo, who received the Outstanding Nonfiction Short Film Honor in 2016 for Hotel 22, is up for two awards this year for her first feature documentary, Stray: Outstanding Cinematography and Outstanding Debut. Filmmaker Dawn Porter, nominated in 2014 for Gideon’s Army, is an Audience Choice nominee this year for John Lewis: Good Trouble.

Heidi Ewing, who, with filmmaking partner Rachel Grady, received the Outstanding Direction Honor in 2013 for Detropia, is nominated for the Heterodox Award for her solo fiction debut, I Carry You With Me. It’s the second nomination for Ewing this year as she and Grady were previously named as nominees in the Broadcast Series category for Showtime’s, Love Fraud. Filmmaker Chloe Zhao received her second nomination for the Heterodox award for this year’s acclaimed fiction film, Nomadland. She was previously nominated in 2018 for The Rider.

In the category of Outstanding Graphic Design and Animation, Jeremy Landman is nominated for the third time, this year for My Psychedelic Love Story, his latest collaboration with director Errol Morris. He won the award in 2012 for Tabloid. Jeff Orlowski, a two-time winner for Cinematography (for Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral), returns to Cinema Eye with a nomination in the Audience Choice category for his latest, The Social Dilemma.

Other returning nominees include the Motto Pictures producing team of Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements and Carolyn Hepburn, nominated for Outstanding Feature last year for Nanfu Wang’s One Child Nation and up this year for Outstanding Production for Ramona S. Diaz’ A Thousand Cuts. Also in Production, Serge Lalou received his third nomination in the category for Notturno, having been previously nominated for Waltz With Bashir and Fire at Sea. Filmmaker Bryan Fogel, who won the Hell Yeah Prize in 2018 for Icarus, is also a Production nominee this year for his latest, The Dissident.

While many returning veterans appeared amongst this year’s nominees, more than 65% of the nominations went to first-timers. Women filmmakers and craftspersons made up 44% of today’s announcements, a record for Cinema Eye, and female directors scored more nominations overall than their male counterparts across all categories for the first time.

Netflix led all distributors/broadcasters with a total of 13 nominations, followed by HBO Documentary Films with 10 and Magnolia Pictures with 9.

Nominees for this year’s Broadcast Film and Series awards were announced on November 19, 2020, during the annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch. Winners in all categories will be announced during the 2021 Awards Ceremony, to be held virtually on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.

Sponsors for the 14th Annual Cinema Eye Honors include Netflix, ESPN Films, Hulu, National Geographic and Vidiots. Additional sponsors will be announced in the coming months.

A full list of nominees follows:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

  • Boys State

    Directed and produced by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

  • Collective

    Directed and produced by Alexander Nanau
    Produced by Blanca Oana, Bernard Michaud and Hanna Kastelicová

  • Dick Johnson is Dead

    Directed by Kirsten Johnson
    Produced by Katy Chevigny and Marilyn Ness

  • Gunda

    Directed by Victor Kossakovsky
    Produced by Anita Rehoff Larsen

  • Time

    Directed and Produced by Garrett Bradley
    Produced by Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

  • Alexander Nanau

    For Collective

  • Kirsten Johnson

    For Dick Johnson is Dead

  • Victor Kossakovsky

    For Gunda

  • Gianfranco Rosi

    For Notturno

  • Garrett Bradley

    For Time

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

  • Jeff Gilbert

    For Boys State

  • Frederick Wiseman

    For City Hall

  • Dana Bunescu, George Cragg and Alexander Nanau

    For Collective

  • Victor Kossakovsky and Ainara Vera

    For Gunda

  • Laura Tomaselli

    For MLK/FBI

  • Gabriel Rhodes

    For Time

Outstanding Achievement in Production

  • Hao Wu and Jean Tsien

    For 76 Days

  • Alexander Nanau, Bianca Oana, Bernard Michaud and Hanna Lastelicová

    For Collective

  • Bryan Fogel, Thor Halvorssen, Mark Monroe and Jake Swantko

    For The Dissident

  • Donatella Palermo, Camille Laemmle, Serge Lalou, Orwa Nyrabia, Eva-Maria Weerts, Paolo Del Brocco, and Gianfranco Rosi

    For Notturno

  • Ramona S. Diaz, Leah Marino, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, and Carolyn Hepburn

    For A Thousand Cuts

  • David France, Alice Henty, Askold Kurov and Joy Tomchin

    For Welcome to Chechnya

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

  • Egil Håskjold Larsen and Victor Kossokovsky

    For Gunda

  • Roger Horrocks

    For My Octopus Teacher

  • Gianfranco Rosi

    For Notturno

  • Elizabeth Lo

    For Stray

  • Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

    For The Truffle Hunters

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score

  • Casey Wayne McAllister

    For Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

  • Troy Herion

    For Bulletproof

  • Vincent Van Warmerdam

    For The Mole Agent

  • Nainita Desai

    For The Reason I Jump

  • Jamieson Shaw and Edwin Montgomery

    For Time

  • Ed Côrtez

    For The Truffle Hunters

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation

  • Zachary Ludescher and Alexandra Gilwit

    For Coded Bias

  • Jenna Caravello and Arthur Jones

    For Feels Good Man

  • Jeremy Landman

    For My Psychedelic Love Story

  • Andy Cahill

    For Slay the Dragon

  • Simon Barker, Matthew Poliquin, Matt Schultz and Shawna Schultz

    For The Social Dilemma

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film

  • Feels Good Man

    Directed by Arthur Jones

  • Mr Soul!

    Directed by Melissa Haizlip

  • Softie

    Directed by Sam Soko

  • Some Kind of Heaven

    Directed by Lance Oppenheim

  • Stray

    Directed by Elizabeth Lo

  • Time

    Directed by Garrett Bradley

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking

  • Huntsville Station

    Directed by Jamie Meltzer and Chris Filippone

  • John Was Trying to Contact Aliens

    Directed by Matthew Killip

  • A Love Song for Latasha

    Directed by Nahli Allison

  • See You Next Time

    Directed by Crystal Kayiza

  • Then Comes the Evening

    Directed by Maja Novakovic

Audience Choice

  • Boys State

    Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

  • Crip Camp

    Directed by James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham

  • Dick Johnson is Dead

    Directed by Kirsten Johnson

  • I Am Greta

    Directed by Nathan Grossman

  • John Lewis: Good Trouble

    Directed by Dawn Porter

  • The Mole Agent

    Directed by Maite Alberdi

  • My Octopus Teacher

    Directed by James Reed and Pippa Ehrlich

  • The Social Dilemma

    Directed by Jeff Orlowski

  • Time

    Directed by Garrett Bradley

  • The Truffle Hunters

    Directed by Michael Dweck and Greogry Kershaw

Spotlight Award

  • Acasa, My Home

    Directed by Radu Ciorniciuc

  • The Earth is Blue as an Orange

    Directed by Iryna Tsilyk

  • Jacinta

    Directed by Jessica Earnshaw

  • Landfall

    FDirected byor Cecilia Aldarondo

  • Mayor

    Directed by David Osit

  • Through the Night

    Directed by Loira Limbal

Heterodox Award

  • Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

    Directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross

  • I Carry You With Me

    Directed by Heidi Ewing

  • Never Rarely Sometimes Always

    Directed by Eliza Hittman

  • Nomadland

    Directed by Chloe Zhao

  • Ridge (Säsong)

    Directed by John Skoog

The Unforgettables (Non-Competitive Honor)

  • Stephen Garza and Rene Otero

    For Boys State

  • Cătălin Tolontan

    For Collective

  • Judith Heymann

    For Crip Camp

  • Dick Johnson

    For Dick Johnson is Dead

  • Gunda

    For Gunda

  • Greta Thunberg

    For I Am Greta

  • John Lewis

    For John Lewis: Good Trouble

  • Musa Hadid

    For Mayor

  • Sergio Chamy

    For The Mole Agent

  • Walter Mercado

    For Mucho Mucho Amor

  • Boniface Mwangi

    For Softie

  • Maria Ressa

    For A Thousand Cuts

  • Delores “Nunu” Hogan

    For Through the Night

  • Fox Richardson

    For Time

  • Olga Baranova and David Isteev

    For Welcome to Chechnya

Outstanding Achievement in a Nonfiction Film for Broadcast

  • Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn

    Directed by Ivy Meeropol
    For HBO

  • Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

    Directed by Carol Dysinger
    For A&E

  • Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

    Directed by Martin Scorsese
    For Netflix

  • Sea of Shadows

    Directed by Richard Ladkani
    For National Geographic

  • Welcome to Chechnya

    Directed David France
    For HBO

Outstanding Achievement in a Nonfiction Series for Broadcast

  • Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children

    Directed by Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayoff, Jeff Dupre and Sam Pollard
    For HBO

  • Hillary

    Directed by Nanette Burstein
    For Hulu

  • I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

    Directed by Liz Garbus
    For HBO

  • The Last Dance

    Directed by Jason Hehir
    For ESPN/Netflix

  • Love Fraud

    Directed Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
    For Showtime

Outstanding Achievement in Editing in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast

  • Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn

    Editing by Anne Alvergue and Adam Kurnitz
    For HBO

  • I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

    Editing by Erin Barnett, Jawad Metni and Alyse Ardell Spiegel
    For HBO

  • The Last Dance

    Editing Chad Beck, Devin Concannon, Abhay Sofsky and Ben Sozanski
    For ESPN/Netflix

  • Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

    Editing by Damian Rodriguez and David Tedeschi
    For Netflix

  • Welcome to Chechnya

    Editing by Tyler H. Walk
    For HBO

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast

  • I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

    Cinematography by Thorsten Thielow
    For HBO

  • Night on Earth – Episode: Moonlit Plains

    Cinematography by Luke Barnett, Robin Cox, Kevin Flay and Jamie McPherson
    For Netflix

  • Sea of Shadows

    Cinematography Richard Ladkani
    For National Geographic

  • The Nightcrawlers

    Cinematography by Alexander A. Mora
    For National Geographic

  • The Vow

    Cinematography by Ian Moubayed and Sam Price-Waldman
    For HBO

  • Welcome to Chechnya

    Cinematography by Askold Kurov
    For HBO