Cinema Eye Honors, the organization founded in 2007 to celebrate outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking, spread the wealth their winners its 16th Annual Awards ceremony this evening, where Shaunak Sen’s Cannes-winning feature, All That Breathes, which follows two brothers who run a bird hospital dedicated to rescuing injured black kites, won the top prize of the night, Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, along with Outstanding Cinematography.
Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love, about intrepid husband-and-wife volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft and led all films with seven nominations, won three awards: Outstanding Editing, Score and Visual Design (in a tie with Moonage Dream). The score was composed by Nicolas Godin of French electronic music duo Air.
Alex Pritz’s The Territory, the other nomination leader, earned a single win from its seven, for Debut Feature. Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, won Best Direction. This was Poitras’ third nomination and third win. She previously won the award for both The Oath (2010) and Citizenfour(2014). She is the only individual to have won the Directing award more than once.
Another top winner was Daniel Roher’s Navalny, a nonfiction film that follows the Russian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Alexei Navalny in real time as he recovers from an assassination attempt. Navalny‘s producing team won the Outstanding Achievement in Production award, and the film also took home the Audience Choice Prize, an award voted on by documentary fans around the world. This year, for the first time, voters from the general public selected this year’s Audience Choice Prize nominees from a 16-film Long List by Cinema Eye’s nominations committee, and they then voted for the winner. More than 50,000 votes were cast to determine this year’s award recipient.
In Broadcast Honors, a notable win came in the Outstanding Anthology Series category. How To with John Wilson (Season Two) won the award. It previously won the Broadcast Editing award at last year’s ceremony, marking the second consecutive win for the Cinema Eye-nominated series.
This year’s ceremony opened with an emotional tribute to documentary pioneer Julia Reichert, a Cinema Eye winner and godmother of American independent documentary, Reichert died in December. Her husband and filmmaking partner, Steven Bognar, talked about Julia’s passion for her beloved documentary community.
Whitney Museum Curator Chrissie Iles announced this year’s Legacy Award, which was given to Terry Zwigoff for Crumb, his 1994 landmark portrait of artist Robert Crumb. Zwigoff thanked his team and the documentary filmmakers in attendance in video remarks from San Francisco. Zwigoff will be presented the Legacy Award trophy in Los Angeles at a screening of Crumb at Vidiot Foundation’s newly-reopened Eagle Theatre later this year.
Brandy Burre, the centerpiece of Robert Greene’s previously nominated film Actress, spoke of the challenge many in the nonfiction filmmaking community are having in determining the role and title of those who are in front of the documentary camera. She also introduced videos celebrating this year’s Unforgettables, Cinema Eye’s category recognizing documentary subject/collaborators who have been particularly memorable this year.
In remarks later in the evening, Cinema Eye Founding Director AJ Schnack noted the continued imprisonment of filmmaker and Cinema Eye winner Jafar Panahi and encouraged those in attendance to be vigilant to attacks on filmmakers and journalists.
All That Breathes, Fire of Love, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Moonage Daydream and Navalny are all on the Documentary Feature shortlist for the upcoming Academy Awards. Also shortlisted is Alex Pritz’sThe Territory, which won the Award for Debut Feature. Nuisance Bear won for Outstanding Nonfiction Short and is also on the Academy shortlist in that category.
Last year, Flee won Outstanding Nonfiction Feature at the CEH awards and went on to an Oscar nomination for Documentary Feature. Summer of Soul won the CEH award for editing and then won the Documentary Feature Oscar.
Here is the complete list of winners.
Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
All That Breathes (Directed and Produced by Shaunak Sen, Produced by Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer) – WINNER
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Directed and Produced by Laura Poitras, Produced by Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov)
Fire of Love (Directed and Produced by Sara Dosa, Produced by Shane Boris and Ina Fichman)
Navalny (Directed by Daniel Roher, Produced by Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (Directed by Payal Kapadia, Produced by Thomas Hakim, Julien Graff and Ranabir Das)
The Territory (Directed and Produced by Alex Pritz, Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Gabriel Uchida, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett and Will N. Miller)
Outstanding Direction
All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras) – WINNER
Beba (Rebeca Huntt)
Descendant (Margaret Brown)
Fire of Love (Sara Dosa)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (Payal Kapadia)
Outstanding Editing
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Amy Foote, Joe Bini and Brian A. Kates)
Fire of Love (Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput) – WINNER
Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen)
Riotsville, USA (Nels Bangerter)
Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Katharina Wartena)
Outstanding Production
All That Breathes (Aman Mann, Shaunak Sen and Teddy Leifer)
A House Made of Splinters (Monica Hellström)
In Her Hands (Juan Camilo Cruz and Jonathan Schaerf)
Navalny (Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris) – WINNER
The Territory (Alex Pritz, Darren Aronofsky, Gabriel Uchida, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett and Will N. Miller)
Outstanding Cinematography
All That Breathes (Ben Bernhard) – WINNER
Cow (Magda Kowalczyk)
A House Made of Splinters (Simon Lereng Wilmont)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (Ranabir Das)
The Territory (Alex Pritz and Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau)
Users (Bennett Cerf)
Outstanding Original Score
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Soundwalk Collective)
Descendant (Ray Angry and Rhiannon Giddens/Dirk Powell)
Fire of Love (Nicolas Godin) – WINNER
Nothing Compares (Linda Buckley and Irene Buckley)
The Territory (Katya Mihailova)
Users (Dave Cerf)
Outstanding Sound Design
All That Breathes (Niladri Shekhar Roy, Sound Designer, and Susmit “Bob” Nath, Sound Design Consultant)
Fire of Love (Patrice LeBlanc, Sound Designer, and Gavin Fernandes, Re-recording Mixer)
I Didn’t See You There (Tom Paul, Lead Sound Designer & Re-recording Mixer, and Andrés E. Marthe González, Supervising Sound Editor)
Moonage Daydream(Samir Foco, John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone, Sound Designers) – WINNER
The Territory (Rune Klausen and Peter Albrechtsen, Sound Designers)
Outstanding Visual Design (tie)
Dear Mr. Brody (Gary Walker, Visual Effects; John Mark Lapham, Collages; Sam Klatt, Graphics & Compositing)
Fire of Love (Lucy Munger, Animation; Kara Blake, Graphic Artist; and Rui Ting Ji, Hand-drawn animation & Illustrations) – WINNER
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Hectah Arias, Animation and Graphics)
My Old School (Rory Lowe, Animation Director, and Scott Morriss, Lead Animator)
Outstanding Debut
Bad Axe (Directed by David Siev)
Beba (Directed by Rebeca Huntt)
I Didn’t See You There (Directed by Reid Davenport)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (Directed by Payal Kapadia)
Nothing Compares (Directed by Kathryn Ferguson)
The Territory (Directed by Alex Pritz) – WINNER
Outstanding Nonfiction Short
In Flow of Words (Directed by Eliane Esther Bots)
Last Days of August (Directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian)
Long Line of Ladies (Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and Shaandiin Tome)
The Martha Mitchell Effect (Directed by Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy)
Nuisance Bear(Directed by Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden) – WINNER
Shut Up and Paint (Directed by Alex Mallis and Titus Kaphar)
Audience Choice Prize
All That Breathes (Directed by Shaunak Sen)
The Balcony Movie (Directed by Paweł Łoziński)
Fire of Love (Directed a by Sara Dosa)
Last Flight Home (Directed by Ondi Timoner)
Mija (Directed by Isabel Castro)
My Old School (Directed by Jono McLeod)
Navalny (Directed by Daniel Roher) – WINNER
Nothing Compares (Directed by Kathryn Ferguson)
Sr. (Directed by Chris Smith)
The Territory (Directed by Alex Pritz)
Spotlight
After Sherman (Directed by Jon-SesrieGoff)
Brotherhood (Directed by Francesco Montagner)
Hidden Letters (Directed by Violet Du Feng and Zhao Qing)
Into the Ice (Directed by Lars Henrik Ostenfeld)
Master of Light(Directed by Rosa Ruth Boesten) – WINNER
Heterodox
Aftersun(Directed by Charlotte Wells) – WINNER
Dry Ground Burning (Directed by Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós)
Dos Estaciones (Directed by Juan Pablo González)
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp)
The Rehearsal (Season One) (Directed by Nathan Fielder)
The Unforgettables (Non-Competitive Honor)
All That Breathes (Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Nan Goldin
Bad Axe (Chun Siev)
Beba (Rebeca Huntt)
Fire of Love (Katia and Maurice Krafft)
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Gabby Giffords)
I Didn’t See You There (Reid Davenport)
In Her Hands (Zarifa Ghafari)
Last Flight Home (Eli Timoner)
Mija (Doris Muñoz)
My Old School (Brandon Lee)
Navalny (Alexei Navalny)
Nothing Compares (Sinead O’Connor)
Sr. (Robert Downey Sr.)
The Territory (Bitaté Uru-eu-wau-wau and Neidinha Bandeira)
Broadcast Film Nominees
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes(Directed by James Jones | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max) – WINNER
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Directed by Rory Kennedy | Netflix)
Four Hours at the Capitol (Directed by Jamie Roberts | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
George Carlin’s American Dream (Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
Playing With Sharks (Directed by Sally Aitken | Disney+)
Nonfiction Series Nominees
The Beatles: Get Back (Directed by Peter Jackson | Disney+)
Black and Missing (Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max) – WINNER
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (Directed by Rachel Dretzin | Netflix)
LuLaRich (Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst | Amazon Studios)
Mind Over Murder (Directed by Nanfu Wang | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
We Need to Talk About Cosby (Directed by W. Kamau Bell | Showtime)
Anthology Series Nominees
How To with John Wilson (Season Two) (Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman, Clark Reinking and John Wilson, Executive Producers | HBO) – WINNER
Origins of Hip Hop (Peter Bittenbender, Mark Grande, Slane Hatch; Supervising Producers: Amira Lewally and Phoenix Skye Maulella, Executive Producers | A&E)
Prehistoric Planet (Jon Favreau and Michael Gunton, Executive Producers; Tim Walker, Series Producer | Apple TV+)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (Season Two) (Tom Barry, Adam Hawkins, Eve Kay and Stanley Tucci, Executive Producers; Robin O’Sullivan, Series Producer | CNN)
Women Who Rock (Jessica Hopper, Rachel Brill, John Varvatos, Derik Murray and Jesse James Miller, Executive Producers | EPIX)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Season Two) (Jeff Goldblum, Jane Root, Sara Brailsford, Keith Addis and Arif Nurmohamed, Executive Producers, Ben Jessop, Series Producer | Disney+)
Broadcast Editing Nominees
37 Words (Jessica Congdon and Dave Marcus | ESPN)
The Beatles: Get Back (Jabez Olssen | Disney+)
Four Hours at the Capitol (Will Grayburn | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
How to Survive a Pandemic (Adam Evans and Tyler H. Walk | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
How To with John Wilson (Season Two) (Adam Locke-Norton | HBO)
We Need to Talk About Cosby(Meg Ramsay | Showtime) – WINNER
Broadcast Cinematography Nominees
Four Hours at the Capitol (Jamie Roberts | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Coodie Simmons and Danny “DNA” Sorge | Netflix)
Playing With Sharks (Michael Taylor, Judd Overton, Nathan Barlow and Toby Ralph | Disney+) – WINNER
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (Season Two) (Andrew Muggleton | CNN)
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Come Off (Sam Jones and Jesse Green | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
Legacy Award
Crumb
Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Produced by Lynn O’Donnell and Terry Zwigoff
Edited by Victor Livingston
Cinematography by Maryse Alberti
Music by David Beddinghaus
Sound by Scott Breindell
Shorts List Films
Anastasia (Directed by Sarah McCarthy)
The Joys and Sorrows of Young Yuguo (Directed by Ilinca Călugăreanu)
Keys to the City (Directed by Ian Moubayed)
Audience Choice Long List Films
Good Night Oppy (Directed by Ryan White)
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (Directed by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfire
In Her Hands (Directed by Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Directed by Sacha Jenkins)
Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.