Cinema Eye Honors, the organization founded in 2007 to celebrate outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking, today announced the full slate of nominees for its 16th Annual Awards Ceremony. Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love and Alex Pritz’ The Territory led all nominees with seven nominations each, tying the record for most Cinema Eye nominations in a single year. Shaunak Sen’s Cannes-winning feature, All That Breathes, received six nominations, and Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, received four.
All four films are nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, along with Daniel Roher’s Navalny and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing.
Sara Dosa, Payal Kapadia, Laura Poitras and Shaunak Sen were all nominated for Outstanding Direction, along with Rebeca Huntt for Beba and Margaret Brown for Descendant. It’s the first time in Cinema Eye history that five women were nominated for Outstanding Direction. This marks the second nomination in the category for Margaret Brown, who was previously nominated for The Order of Myths. It’s the third Director nomination for Laura Poitras, who won the award both of the previous times she was nominated, for The Oath and Citizenfour.
Alex Pritz has the most individual nominations this year, with five for The Territory, including nods in the Cinematography and Debut Feature categories. Shaunak Sen has four, and Payal Kapadia received three. With her two nominations for Feature and Direction, Laura Poitras tied Steve James with the most Cinema Eye nominations of all-time. Each has received 13 nominations.
In addition to Brown and Poitras, a number of Cinema Eye veterans were recognized for their work this year:
Nels Bangerter was nominated for Outstanding Editing for the third time (for Riotsville, USA), having won the award twice before, for Let the Fire Burn (2014) and Cameraperson (2017).
Stefan Nadelman, a two-time winner for Outstanding Visual Design for Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck (2016) and Long Strange Trip (2018), is nominated this year for Moonage Daydream.
Filmmaker Brett Morgen is nominated for his editing on Moonage Daydream. He previously won the Audience Choice Prize for Jane (2018) and was nominated at the first Cinema Eye Honors in 2008 for Chicago 10.
Sigrid Dyekjær, who previously won for producing The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun (2008) and The Cave (2020), is nominated in the Feature and Production categories again this year for The Territory.
Chris Smith, winner of the Legacy Award in 2016 for American Movie (1999), is up for the Audience Choice Prize this year for Sr.
Three winners from the 15th Annual Awards Ceremony, held in March of this year, return to Cinema Eye with their latest nominations. Adam Locke-Norton, winner of Outstanding Broadcast Editing for the debut season of How To with John Wilson, is up this year for his work in Season Two of that series. Nanfu Wang (who won Outstanding Broadcast Feature for In the Same Breath) is nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Series for Mind Over Murder.
Monica Hellstrøm, a winner earlier this year as a producer of Outstanding Feature winner Flee, is nominated for Outstanding Production for A House Made of Splinters. That film’s director, Simon Lereng Wilmont, previously won the Spotlight Award for The Distant Barking of Dogs (2017) and is up this year for Outstanding Cinematography.
For the first time, global documentary lovers selected this year’s Audience Choice Prize nominees from a Long List of 16 films voted on by Cinema Eye’s nominations committee. Over seven days, more than 20,000 voters from around the world cast ballots online. The nominees include a number of this year’s most acclaimed and talked-about films, including Paweł Łoziński’s The Balcony Movie, Ondi Timoner’s Last Flight Home, Isabel Castro’s Mija, Jono McLeod’s My Old School and Kathryn Ferguson’s Nothing Compares. Online voting to determine the winner of the Audience Choice Prize will take place in December 2022.
Historically, films nominated for Cinema Eye will often go on to receive other nominations and critics prizes. Over the last five years, 92% of the Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature were also Cinema Eye nominees, and 88% of Oscar nominees had received multiple Cinema Eye nominations.
HBO led all distributors/broadcasters with a total of 30 nominations, followed by 17 nominations for National Geographic Documentary Films, 16 for NEON and eight for Netflix.
Nominees for this year’s Broadcast Film and Series awards were announced on October 20, 2022, during the annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch in Los Angeles. Also announced was the recipient of this year’s Legacy Award, Terry Zweigoff’s classic documentary portrait, Crumb (1994). At the time, Zwigoff offered the following statement: “I’m glad to find out you don’t have to be dead to receive this award. I guess they figured I’m finally close enough. I’m so old my film career started decades before this Cinema Eye Award existed, so now they have to give me the Honorary version, the ‘Legacy Award.’ This is sort of like the Lifetime Achievement Award or the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award they hand out each year at the Oscars, except I haven’t achieved much in my lifetime, and I generally prefer the company of animals to humans. In any case, it’s a nice honor and I’m in great company judging from the list of prior recipients.”
Premiere Sponsors for the 16th Annual Cinema Eye Honors include Apple TV+, HBO Max and National Geographic Documentary Films. Major sponsors are Amazon Studios, Hulu, Netflix and Showtime. Vidiots Foundation and The Museum of the Moving Image are Cinema Eye’s Venue Partners. Additional sponsors will be announced in the coming months.
Here is the full list of nominees:
2022 Cinema Eye Honors Nominations
Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
All That Breathes (Directed and Produced by Shaunak Sen, Produced by Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer)
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)
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)
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)
The Territory (Alex Pritz, Darren Aronofsky, Gabriel Uchida, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett and Will N. Miller)
Outstanding Cinematography
All That Breathes (Ben Bernhard)
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)
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)
The Territory (Rune Klausen and Peter Albrechtsen, Sound Designers)
Outstanding Visual Design
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)
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Hectah Arias, Animation and Graphics)
Moonage Daydream (Stefan Nadelman, Animation)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Heterodox
Aftersun (Directed by Charlotte Wells)
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)
The following were previously announced on Thursday, October 20, 2022 during the annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch in Los Angeles.
Broadcast Film Nominees
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes (Directed by James Jones | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max)
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)
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)
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)
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+)
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)
Moonage Daydream (Directed by Brett Morgen)
Nominations by Film (*denotes the film is also recognized in the non-competitive Unforgettables category)
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.