‘Citizenfour’ Leads Cinema Eye Honors Nominations
Laura Poitras’ film about Edward Snowden, “Citizenfour,” led all films with six nominations for the Cinema Eye Honors, one of the top awards for non-fiction filmmaking. The nominations were announced on Wednesday at a reception during the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
In the top category, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking, “Citizenfour” will compete against the Steve James’ Roger Ebert documentary, “Life Itself”; Ian Forsythe's and Jane's Pollard's “20,000 Days on Earth,” about musician Nick Cave; Jesse Moss’ “The Overnighters,” about workers flocking to oil fields in North Dakota; and Orlando von Einsiedel's “Virunga,” which deals with threats to a national park in the Congo.
Also read: ‘Virunga’ Is Netflix Documentary Gem: How Filmmakers Are Trying to Bring Down Big Oil
Runners up to “Citizenfour” in total nominations were “Life Itself” and “20,000 Days on Earth,” with five nominations each.
Multiple nominations also went to “The Case Against 8,” “Actress,” “E-Team,” “Finding Vivian Maier,” “Jodorowsky's Dune,” “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” “Particle Fever” and “Return to Homs.”
The nominations make James and Poitras the most-nominated filmmakers in Cinema Eye history, with eight and nine total nominations, respectively.
Two weeks ago, the International Documentary Association nominated “Citizenfour,” “Finding Vivian Maier,” “Point and Shoot,” “The Salt of the Earth” and “Tales of the Grim Sleeper” for the top honor at the IDA Documentary Awards.
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The Cinema Eye Honors are the most extensive awards for nonfiction filmmaking, handing out prizes in directing, producing, cinematography, editing, music and graphic design or animation, in addition to overall film awards.
Films qualify for the Cinema Eye Honors through theatrical or film-festival play. A total of 146 films qualified for the awards this year, slightly more than the Academy Awards’ field of 134. (More than 250 films qualified for the IDA Awards.)
Over its first seven years, the awards twice gave their top honor to the film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. James Marsh‘s “Man on Wire” won in 2009, and Louie Psihoyos’ “The Cove” the following year.
Last year's Cinema Eye winner was “The Act of Killing,” which was nominated for an Oscar but did not win. The Oscar winner, “20 Feet From Stardom,” was not nominated for the top Cinema Eye award.
Also read: Edward Snowden and Vivian Maier Documentaries Nominated for IDA Awards
The Cinema Eye Honors were launched in 2007 by filmmaker and journalist A.J. Schnack and documentary programmer Thom Powers, who wanted to create documentary awards that would honor the entire creative team and all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.
The awards will be handed out at a ceremony in New York City in early January, 2015.
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
20,000 Days on Earth
Directed by Iain Forsythe and Jane Pollard
Produced by Dan Bowen and James Wilson
Citizenfour
Directed by Laura Poitras
Produced by Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Life Itself
Directed by Steve James
Produced by Zak Piper and Steve James
The Overnighters
Directed by Jesse Moss
Produced by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
Virunga
Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel
Produced by Joanna Natesegara and Orlando von Einsiedel
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Robert Greene
Actress
Laura Poitras
Citizenfour
Steve James
Life Itself
Jesse Moss
The Overnighters
Nick Broomfield
Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Robert Greene
Actress
Kate Amend
The Case Against 8
Mathilde Bonnefoy
Citizenfour
Steve James and David E. Simpson
Life Itself
Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Marshall Curry
Point and Shoot
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Ben Cotner and Ryan White
The Case Against 8
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
Citizenfour
Katy Chevigny, Ross Kauffman and Marilyn Ness
The E-Team
Orwa Nyrabia and Hans Robert Eisenhauer
Return to Homs
Joanna Natesegara and Orlando von Einsiedel
Virunga
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Erik Wilson
20,000 Days on Earth
Laura Poitras, Kirsten Johnson, Katy Scoggin & Trevor Paglen
Citizenfour
Ross Kauffman and Rachel Beth Anderson
The E-Team
Niels van Koevorden
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Andrew Droz Palermo
Rich Hill
Franklin Dow and Orlando von Einsiedel
Virunga
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
American Masters: Jimi Hendrix – Here My Train a Comin’
Directed by Bob Smeaton
Produced by John McDermott
For PBS/American Masters: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks, Junko Tsunashima, Lesley Norman
The Education of Muhammad Hussein
Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Produced by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
For HBO Documentary Films: Sheila Nevins, Sara Bernstein
Hillsborough
Directed by Daniel Gordon
Produced by Daniel Gordon, Deirdre Fenton, Erin Leyden, Libby Geist
For ESPN/30 for 30 Soccor Stories: Connor Schell, John Dahl, Bill Simmons
The Price of Gold
Directed by Nanette Burstein
Produced by Libby Geist
For ESPN/30 for 30: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
Six by Sondheim
Directed by James Lapine
Produced by Frank Rich, Liz Stanton
For HBO Documentary Films: Sheila Nevins, Nancy Abraham
Audience Choice Prize
20,000 Days on Earth
Directed by Iain Forsythe and Jane Pollard
The Case Against 8
Directed by Ben Cotner and Ryan White
Citizenfour
Directed by Laura Poitras
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
Directed by Chiemi Karasawa
Finding Vivian Maier
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Jodorowsky's Dune
Directed by Frank Pavich
Keep On Keepin’ On
Directed by Alan Hicks
Life Itself
Directed by Steve James
Mistaken for Strangers
Directed by Tom Berninger
Particle Fever
Directed by Mark Levinson
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
20,000 Days on Earth
Directed by Iain Forsythe and Jane Pollard
Approaching the Elephant
Directed by Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal
Directed by Darius Clark Monroe
Finding Vivian Maier
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Return to Homs
Directed by Talal Derki
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
20,000 Days on Earth
David Wingo
The Great Invisible
Joshua Abrams
Life Itself
David Perlick-Molinari
Mateo
Edwyn Collins
The Possibilities Are Endless
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Kyle McKeveny and Matt St. Leger
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart
Syd Garon
Jodorowsky's Dune
MK12 – Nominees to be Determined
Particle Fever
Philippe Gariepy and Benoit St. Jean
Red Army
Steven Do
The Unknown Known
Spotlight Award
1971
Directed by Johanna Hamilton
Evaporating Borders
Directed by Iva Radivojevic
An Honest Liar
Directed by Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom
Living Stars
Directed by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn
My Name is Salt
Directed by Farida Pacha
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
Hacked Circuit
Directed by Deborah Stratman
Joanna
Directed by Aneta Kopacz
The Lion's Mouth Opens
Directed by Lucy Walker
Notes on Blindness
Directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney
One Year Lease
Directed by Brian Bolster
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