All these wonderful things

Updated - 82 Films Qualify for 2009 Cinema Eye Honors as Indiepix Announces 3-Year Partnership

This afternoon in Silver Spring at the Silverdocs Festival, we announced the continuation of our efforts in shining a spotlight on nonfiction filmmaking with the 2009 Cinema Eye Honors, which will be held in March in New York City.  Indiepix, the internet distributor of independent film (and - full disclosure, sponsor of festival coverage here), announced that they will continue their partnership with Cinema Eye, serving as presenting sponsor and producer of the awards show through 2010.  Thom Powers, the Documentary Film Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, and I will return as co-chairs.

We also announced that Cinema Eye will present a new award in 2009, for Outstanding Composing in Nonfiction Film.  This is an award that we discussed including in the 2008 edition, but decided to hold off until 2009.

Further, in an effort to broaden the eligibility criteria for the 2009 awards and to include more films from outside of North America, we have added IDFA, the influential Amsterdam documentary festival, and Cannes to the list of qualifying festivals.  In addition, they have added three new festival programmers to the Cinema Eye Nominating Committee - Heather Croall from Sheffield DocFest, Maxyne Franklin of BritDoc and Meira Blaustein from Woodstock Film Festival.  Also joining the nominating committee for 2009 is SXSW Film Festival producer Janet Pierson.

Returning to the nominating committee for 2009 are a cross section of the top documentary festival programmers in North America - Phoebe Brush of Full Frame, Sean Farnel of Hot Docs, Tom Hall of Sarasota Film Festival, David Kwok of Tribeca, Cara Mertes of the Sundance Documentary Film Program, David Nugent of Hamptons Film Festival, Rachel Rosen of the Los Angeles Film Festival, Sky Sitney of Silverdocs, David WIlson of True/False and Brit Withey of Denver Film Festival.

To date, more than 75 feature films have qualified for eligibility for the 2009 awards - a number that matches the total number of eligible films for 2008.  Those films are listed below (those currently screening at Silverdocs are marked with an asterisk.)

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
*AMERICAN TEEN
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR
BE LIKE OTHERS
*THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER*
THE BLACK LIST
BLOODLINE
BODY OF WAR
BRA BOYS
*BULLETPROOF SALESMAN
THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
CONSTANTINE'S SWORD
*CORRIDOR #8
*DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
THE DHAMMA BROTHERS
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A NATION'S JOURNEY
*ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
*THE ENGLISH SURGEON
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED
FIGHTING FOR LIFE
THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY
FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER
FLYING ON ONE ENGINE
*FORBIDDEN LIES
FULL BATTLE RATTLE
*THE GARDEN
THE GATES
GIRLS ROCK!
GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS
*GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON
HATS OFF
HER NAME IS SABINE
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO
IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST
*THE INFINITE BORDER
IN A DREAM
A JIHAD FOR LOVE
JOY DIVISION
*KASSIM THE DREAM
*KICKING IT
*LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC.
LOU REED'S BERLIN
*LUCIO
*MAN ON WIRE
*MECHANICAL LOVE
*MILOSEVIC ON TRIAL
THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM (AND OTHER STORIES)
*MY MOTHER'S GARDEN
*MY WINNIPEG
*THE ORDER OF MYTHS
PARADISE
PARADISE - THREE JOURNEYS IN THIS WORLD
PLANET B-BOY
*PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL
PRAYING WITH LIOR
A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN
REFUSENIK
ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
SECRECY
SHINE A LIGHT
SHOOT DOWN
THE SINGING REVOLUTION
*SONG SUNG BLUE
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDUE
*STRANDED, I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS
SURFWISE
STEEP
TEHRAN HAS NO MORE POMEGRANATES!
*THROW DOWN YOUR HEART
*TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI'S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA
*TROUBLE THE WATER
TRYING TO GET GOOD: THE JAZZ ODYSSEY OF JACK SHELDON
U23D
*UP THE YANGTZE
VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW: 30 DAYS & 30 NIGHTS - FROM HOLLYWOOD TO THE HEARTLAND
WAITING FOR HOCKNEY
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?
WILD BLUE YONDER
YIDDISH THEATER: A LOVE STORY
YOUNG@HEART

For photos and videos from the first edition of the Cinema Eye Honors, check out the Cinema Eye website.

*Note - An earlier version of this list noted only 78 features had qualified.  The announcement of prizes at Silverdocs added THE GARDEN, KASSIM THE DREAM and PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL to the eligible list.  Also, IN A DREAM was mistakenly left off of the previous version of this list.  The error was mine.

Reactions to the Inaugural Cinema Eye Honors

Wrapping up the bulk of our coverage of the first annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking is a survey of thoughts from various folks who attended last Tuesday's ceremony - and the thoughts of a few who couldn't make it:

First, thoughts from presenter and acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger, as relayed by Pamela Cohn at Still in Motion:

"For years, I, too, have lamented the documentary-consuming public's confusion of subject matter versus craft when evaluating the quality of a nonfiction film.  In the narrative (fiction) feature world, a poorly made film on an "important" subject would be rejected as inferior; yet in the world of documentary evaluation, too often a film is validated in terms of its subject matter instead of its craft...

(A)s one of the early pioneers of the current new wave of nonfiction theatrical filmmakers with two decades of hindsight, last night's celebration of outstandingly-crafted films and the recognition that there should be no rules for conveying cinematic truth represented a real milestone in the evolution of the perception of nonfiction films.

I was honored to have been a small part of the evening, and I wish you the greatest success with this endeavor."

Nell Boase of the Guardian UK:

"It's the first outing of the Cinema Eye awards, and there's a bubbling sense of camaraderie at this little Manhattan cinema packed with documentary makers.

The evening is billed as the first non-fiction film-making awards. Of course, there are plenty of prizes going round for documentaries. But they tend to be the odd single category, and these films hardly ever get nominated in the main cinematography or editing sections...

There are some impressive films on the slate. BILLY THE KID is a short study of a 15-year-old boy in Maine. It's not clear whether his awkwardness comes from Asperger's syndrome or simple teenage gauchery, but director Jennifer Venditti captures some extraordinarily touching moments. Picking up the prize for best debut, she enthuses: "I'm so excited to share the cinema I see around me every day."

The cinematography award goes to Heloisa Passos for her work on MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET). This movie, which also won for best film and best editing, isn't one of the new digital breed; it was beautifully shot on film over five years in Sao Paulo. It's an odd tale of a frog farmer, a hostage victim and a cosmetic surgeon, but the disjointed threads manage to frame a tale of corruption and class war in modern Brazil...

There is even, unusually, an award for best producer, which goes to another Dane: Mikael Rieks for GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL, a portrait of gangs in Haiti. And that's rather what this evening is about - celebrating the unsung roles. "Behind every director is a producer, and there are some brave producers in this room," says Rieks."

Anthony Kaufman:

"While most of the film industry doesn't need another awards event, it was clear from last night's Cinema Eye nonfiction honors that the unsung and aesthetic-minded nonfiction filmmaker deserves a little celebration, a few extra pats on the back, and a community to help them in these dire times -- when both funding and distribution are drying up. Cutting loose, doc filmmaker and event co-organizer AJ Schnack ("KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON") set the tone early with an impressive musical rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" with lyrics inspired by Tony Kaye's abortion film "LAKE OF FIRE." Clearly, this was a room full of trusted colleagues, where anything was welcome -- although Barbara Kopple's enthusiastic climactic appearance drew some nervous titters.

Even so, Cinema Eye -- named after the equally kooky excitable "Kino Eye" manifestos of the Russian experimental filmmaker Dziga Vertov ("Everyone who cares for his art seeks the essence of his own technique" ) -- deserves support. Driven solely by art, not by commerce or self-promotion, the awards seek to offer validation to those who need it most: Working on the margins, stringing togething financing piecemeal and struggling for years at a time on labors of love that have no obvious payday or plaudits at the end, these films and filmmakers deserve a night to admire their own artistic accomplishments. Docs, often shunned as second-class citizens to narrative filmmakers, it was noted last night, are not even recognized by the guilds. Maybe with a little pressure, the American Society of Cinematographers could add a nonfiction category."

Jennifer Marin at About.com's Documentary Blog:

"With the creation of the Cinema Eye Awards, the documentary film community takes a large leap forward in gaining recognition for the craft involved in making non-fiction films.

The Oscars, Spirit Awards and other such presentations recognize outstanding achievement in direction, cinematography, art direction and all the other specific skills that go into making a narrative feature--but they present just one award in the non-fiction feature category--and, in some ceremonies, one for documentary short.

That's just plain unfair to documentary filmmakers whose skills are every bit as sharp as those of narrative filmmakers--and it's misleading for audiences who may not realize that making documentary films is as challenging as making narrative features, or more so...

Some industry commentators have noted that the winning and nominated films are, as documentaries go, all fairly high profile and well-promoted works, and that many worthy smaller films are still being overlooked. I was personally disappointed to see that Tony Kaye's masterfully made and profoundly provocative Lake of Fire didn't win an award--although it was nominated for four.

The Cinema Eye Awards are slated to become an annual event. Pay attention to them--they're you key to what the documentary community thinks are its crowning achievements for the year."

Jason Guerassio at Filmmaker Magazine:

"With a quick running time of two hours, the mood in the theater was light and in no way competitive. The one thing that may have slowed things down was a Director's Roundtable moderated by Powers in the middle of the awards, which I felt really killed the show's momentum. But that's just one example of how the creators were thinking outside the box. There was also a DJ in the corner spinning great songs in between awards and background music for the presenters...

There were also moving moments as well -- a tribute to two filmmakers who recently passed away -- Tony Silver, director of the groundbreaking doc, Style Wars and Nonso Christian Ugbode of the National Black Programming Consortium cut together a tribute to mentor St. Clair Bourne."

Yance Ford at the POV Blog:

"For its first time out, Cinema Eye has done a tremendous service to the documentary community in the same do-it-yourself spirit that gets films made. I overheard the phrase "well, next year" often, and I'm sure that in the coming months, AJ, Thom and Indie Pix (with lots of input, no doubt) will improve upon their model for the 2009 Cinema Eye Awards. My personal suggestion would include a discussion about how films with a limited festival life that go straight to TV might be included in the awards. I'd also like to see the list of craft categories expanded to include composition, writing and sound. I know that these questions and others are on the minds of everyone at Cinema Eye, and I look forward to hearing and contributing to the coming conversations."

Mark Rosenberg at the Rooftop Films Blog:

"As an awards ceremony itself, the event was slick but homey, weighty when it needed to be but generally lighthearted, informative but not ponderous. I particularly loved the mid-ceremony discussion group, which featured the fierce insights of Esther B. Robinson and the goofy dynamism of Jason Kohn. Still, the structure and format felt like just about every other awards ceremony, which is a disappointment for an event that is celebrating narrative craft.  Of course, coming from Rooftop Films--where for 12 years we've been trying to stage new ways of presenting films--I would level such a criticism, but I think if the Cinema Eye Honors want to want to break some boundaries and maintain this level of interest in the event itself, in the coming years they would do well to try to stretch the format of their show, much they way the artists they are honoring are challenging the formats of non-fiction filmmaking."

Stu Van Airsdale at The Reeler:

"The Cinema Eyes won't survive out of anger, of course, but they may well survive out of their broader constituency's sense of adventure, experimentation and sacrifice. I wouldn't change much about the presentation, terrifically produced by Pamela Cohn (though the roundtable in the middle could be livelier; if only everyone were as charged up as Robinson and Kohn), and IFC's main auditorium was a surprisingly cozy environment for the format. But the spectrum of documentaries off their radar -- from the trenchant micro-doc MUSICIAN to the appallingly overlooked MY KID COULD PAINT THAT -- defy the instant legitimacy the awards sought to confer. Rather, the Cinema Eyes bowed, for one night anyway, firmly at the center of the establishment orbit. Not the worst place to start, by any means, but certainly no place they'll want to -- or should -- stay."

Alison Willmore at IFC Indie Eye:

"Looking over the many documentarians in the crowd gathered at the first-ever Cinema Eye Honors for nonfiction film last night, awards co-chair AJ Schnack (himself a filmmaker) proclaimed "I don't see journalists, I don't see activists — I see filmmakers and I see artists." Not that there's anything wrong with journalism or activism, but it's a fair point — subject matter so often comes first and foremost when people look at a documentary film, and everyone working behind the camera is relegated to the role of a chronicler. One of the common themes of the evening, and one of the reasons the Cinema Eye Honors were created, was that nonfiction films deserve just as serious a consideration of their craftsmanship, of their art, as narratives, which is why there were awards given out for editing, cinematography and production, in addition to ones recognizing films and directors."

Michael Tully:

"The yearbook/program alone is a really lovely tribute to 2007's sterling year in documentary film. But the awards show itself was breezy, pleasant, and somehow even inspiring. I say somehow because it felt like every single person who spoke preached the difficulties of surviving in this oft-ignored, uncelebrated genre of moviemaking. Esther Robinson was particularly eloquent in the director's roundtable portion of the evening (a very clever idea, I thought), in which she confessed to having weekly conversations with talented documentarians who are on the cusp of giving up and throwing in the towel. It seemed that everyone had their own harsh truth to impart, but rather than deflating me further, it made me excited to see that so much great work was born out of these seemingly insurmountable odds. It made me believe that our desire to make stuff will somehow continue to triumph, even as it seems to be getting harder and harder to do just that."

Mark Rabinowitz at the Rabbi Report:

"Kohn also had many of the best quotes of the night, including screeds on good docs being over looked and making his film "out of anger." When he was at the Sao Paulo International Documentary Film Festival he saw Marshall Curry's Street Fight screen to a near empty house while patrons were viewing....inferior product, elsewhere and it pissed him off.

He also pointed out that the Honors themselves were themselves born out of anger and he was right. I know, I was there. Over the course of a car ride at last November's Denver Film Festival, as AJ read the list of exceptional nonfiction films that had been excluded from the Academy's documentary short list, the level of disbelief and furor in the car rose. Well, AJ decided to do something about that and like a Busby Berkeley movie, 4 short months later, there we all were, gathered in a theater toasting the excellence in nonfiction filmmaking for 2007."

Ingrid Kopp at Shooting From the Hip:

"The ceremony had just the right touch of rock and roll spirit (because lets face it award ceremonies can be deathly boring, especially when you have to eat food that tastes like it should only be served above 10,000 feet). Everyone seemed really grateful that the craft of documentary filmmaking was finally being recognized, and the need for Cinema Eye is clear when you consider that the American Society of Cinematographers do not even have an award for nonfiction. Looking around the room and seeing so many of my friends and colleagues who are so passionate about documentary did bring the expression “preaching to the choir” to mind but it just means that we need to make that choir bigger so that the producers, directors, cinematographers, editors, graphic designers and everybody else who plays such a vital role in bringing a film into the world get more recognition and so that great films like Manda Bala, The Monastery, Billy The Kid and The King of Kong are seen by more people in more cinemas and beyond."

Stephen Higgins at The Matador's blog:

"The Cinema Eye Awards blasted onto the scene last night, spotlighting great cinematography and editing. Thanks to founder AJ Schnack for that. For his urge to prove that instead of dry treatises on the "right issues," documentary can be "entertaining..can be artistic...can rival narrative as a filmgoing experience."

Hats off to the awards team - including chair Thom Powers (Toronto Film Festival) and David Nugent (Hamptons International Film Festival) for ushering in a time when well-crafted, emotionally powerful non-fiction films rise to the fore.

The Cinema Eye Award will become a coveted prize during these next, expansive years for documentary film."

Bryant Frazier at Studio Daily:

"The mood at the Cinema Eye Documentary Awards, sponsored by IndiePix (www.indiepixfilms.com) and held tonight at the IFC Center in Manhattan, was highly congratulatory and occasionally downright giddy – presenter Barbara Kopple’s demand that awards co-chair AJ Schnack accompany her reading of the names of nominees with music, a capella, was a highlight. The presence of Kopple along with other nonfiction-film luminaries — presenters included Academy Award-winning producer/director Alex Gibney, Paradise Lost directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, and Born Into Brothels director Ross Kauffman — helped give a sense of long-time-coming legitimacy to the event, which aimed to help right some perceived wrongs in the mainstream film community’s treatment of documentary filmmakers."

Brian Liu at ToolboxDC:

"When i arrived to the IFC Center, I actually didn't quite realize the magnitude of what i was witnessing, but it quickly became obvious to me that I was witnessing history in the making. With documentaries having such a rich history and effect on our society, it's sad and mindboggling that to this point there had not been any other organized recognition for docs other than a single Oscar award for Best Documentary."

Finally, I want to point to two lengthy posts that raise questions about the awards.  Agnes Varnum wrote (with my encouragement) about her concerns related to Indiepix's sponsorship of the event.  Yance Ford writes at length on the ongoing question of television vs. theatrical.  I respond to each of their posts at length in the comments section.  Also, see my previous post today on questions raised by Stu Van Airsdale, Karina Longworth and Mark Rosenberg related to the eligibility requirements and the winners.

Lots, lots more from Tom Hall, Chuck Tyron, live twittering from Karina Longworth (look for posts on 3-18-08), the original story from Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE, plus iPOP photos (here, here and here) and all of our own Cinema Eye coverage.

Pictures from the Cinema Eye Honors & Afterparty

There's lots of photos over at the Cinema Eye website - as well as the first piece of video from the event of Jason Kohn's tour-de-force acceptance speech for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

Here are a few more:

Here's me, looking more dressed up than nearly anyone has seen me, feeling completely astonished as I begin my welcome remarks.

Thom Powers (center) leads a distinguished panel of directors including Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE), Esther Robinson (A WALK INTO THE SEA), Jason Kohn (MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)) and Pernille Rose Gronkjær (THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN).

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky announce the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Direction as yours truly stands by as your humble trophy boy.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking winners Joey Frank, Jason Kohn and Jared Goldman for MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET).

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON producer Shirley Moyers with They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh and Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser at the Cinema Eye Afterparty.

A trio of presenters - Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (directors of THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK) flank A&E IndieFilms' head honcho Molly Thompson.

Cinema Eye nominee Jessie Vogelson (producer of NO END IN SIGHT) and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE editor Sloane Klevin.

Cinema Eye nominee Petra Epperlein (co-director on THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR as well as the SXSW competition doc BULLETPROOF SALESMAN) with Docurama's Liz Ogilvie.

Indiepix's David Persky with Cinema Eye Nominating Committee member David Kwok, Director of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival.

All the way from Denmark, Pernille Rose Gronkjær, who received the Cinema Eye for Outstanding International Feature for THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN, and Asger Leth, whose GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL picked up the Cinema Eye for Outstanding Achievement in Production.

They were there!  The Rabbi Report's Mark Rabinowitz, SpoutBlog's Karina Longworth and True/False Film Festival co-director (and Cinema Eye Nominating Committee member) David Wilson reunite four months after the Denver Film Festival where the initial seeds of the Cinema Eye Honors were born.

Did Alex Gibney's Cinema Eye Win Undercut the Very Premise of the New Awards?

Shortly I'll be rounding up all the reactions to last Tuesday's inaugural Cinema Eye Honors, but I wanted to address a comment and seeming misconception that I've seen on a few of my favorite blogs.  Checking out The Reeler, the Rooftop Films blog as well as this podcast at Cinematical between James Rocchi and Karina Longworth, there seems to be some grumbling that the eligibility requirements for the Cinema Eyes led to some nominees and winners that seem to defy the events "anti-Oscar" roots.  Exhibit A?  Oscar and Cinema Eye recipient Alex Gibney.

Sayeth Stu Van Airsdale:

"It was a three-month turn-around, with eligibility criteria yielding both an underrepresentation of undistributed docs, festival sleepers and short films (for which, shockingly, there was no category) and a profile-bumping if incongruous assortment of Oscar-sanctioned titles including No End in Sight and the eventual Academy Award winner Taxi to the Dark Side. The latter film's director, Alex Gibney, even claimed the Cinema Eyes' directing prize over the likes of Manda Bala's Jason Kohn and Zoo's Robinson Devor, who themselves had attracted awards notice previously."

In her podcast, Karina argues some of the same points:

"I think a lot of people sort of had a bit of a problem with the Cinema Eyes in that it claimed to be, it claimed that its mission was to be a sort of violent strike against the Oscars, but ultimately they gave Alex Gibney the award for best director.  Alex Gibney, you know, just won an Oscar for Best Documentary.  They also nominated Michael Moore.  There was a lot, not a lot, but there was a certain amount of overlap between the nominees this alternative group put together and this infuriating shortlist that, that created the impetus for the awards in the first place."

If I can jump through these points quickly...

First, about Alex Gibney's double win:

When I wrote about the Oscar shortlist back in November (when the idea for the Cinema Eye Honors was still just a glimmer in my angered eye), I said:

"That's not to say that every film on the Shortlist is an outrage, although there are those....At least a handful are completely deserving - led by Alex Gibney's TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE. "

In January, I named my ten favorite nonfiction films of 2007, a list that included eventual Cinema Eye winners BILLY THE KID, CHICAGO 10, MANDA BALA, THE MONASTERY and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE.  I wrote then:

"(TAXI's) a straightforward investigative approach enhanced by excellent technical skills - the graphic design and Maryse Alberti's cinematography are top notch.  But it's the direction and editing that are key."

All this is to say that I was thrilled that TAXI won the Oscar and equally pleased to see Alex Gibney receive the CInema Eye for Direction - not just because I thought that TAXI was one of the best films of 2007, but also because I think Gibney is one of our premiere directors, someone who embodies the best of the nonfiction new wave in his use of technique.  It doesn't hurt that he's also incredibly hard-working (three films in a year and a half) as well as gracious. 

Rather than undercutting the underlying premise of the Cinema Eye Honors, Gibney's win validated my hope that these awards are not just a knee-jerk reaction for or against what happens (or doesn't happen) in Los Angeles.

So no regrets there.

But this leads us to a larger question and one that I hope to dispel before it leads to what will apparently be great disappointment in some corners.

There will come a year when the Cinema Eye nominees and the Oscar shortlist will be peppered with many of the same films. 

There will come a year when the Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature will win the Cinema Eye for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.

And this will all be totally fine with me.

My argument was never about an annual, perpetual beef with the Academy, but with the fact that this year, the Academy seemed to be almost willfully rejecting a large number of films that excelled in filmmaking craft.

Last year, the Academy's shortlist choices were pretty good as were its nominees.  I fully expect that we'd have seen multiple Cinema Eye nominations for IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS and DELIVER US FROM EVIL certainly (although I suspect our committee might have bypassed AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH).  Who knows what next year holds?  Maybe the Academy will get it spectacularly right in 2008 (or 2009 or 2014).

But it would be a huge disservice to filmmakers and audiences for the Cinema Eyes to be a knee jerk rejection of the Oscars year in and year out.  Reject FOG OF WAR just because the Academy voted for it?  Reject ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER?  To make choices based on that single arbiter would
invalidate the true central premise of the awards - recognizing outstanding filmmaking craft in nonfiction.

This year, five of the films on the Academy's shortlist of 15 (LAKE OF FIRE, NO END IN SIGHT, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME, SICKO and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) received Cinema Eye Nominations.  That's 5 of the 25 films that were nominated for the Cinema Eyes.  Next year it could be 10.

A separate, yet correlated point to this is gone into greater depth by Mark Rosenberg:

"There's a sense that these are the films that have already garnered some acclaim and audiences, even to the point of reaching wide national release and Academy Award recognition. I understand the feeling, because in a room full of avid festival watchers, these are the films we've heard about over and over...

I think the eligibility should be expanded to include at least one category for the best film that didn't play at multiple fests, didn't win awards, and didn't get a theatrical release--essentially just reverse all the eligibility requirements for what they could call the Underexposed Award. It's more work for the nominators, but by finding the films that not even most industry insiders have seen, the Cinema Eye Honors could launch awareness for a truly marginalized film."

I must admit that my first reaction on reading the first paragraph was mild bemusement - as was reading the Reeler's post when he wrote:

"We had all seen Manda Bala, and most of us liked it just fine without affirming its power through multiple awards for cinematography, editing and Best Film."

- mostly because of the implication that a film like MANDA BALA is somehow on everyone's radar.  If only that were even fractionally so.  Yes, of course folks on and around the festival circuit have seen it - otherwise it wouldn't have won - but it's a stretch to imply that this recognition is anywhere near universal, even in the knowing film circles of New York City.

As Karina notes in a separate post over at SpoutBlog:

"The average moviegoer would have to do a good deal of detective work to know that 80% of the films nominated for a Cinema Eye even existed. Isn’t that why the Cinema Eyes exist in the first place?"

 

But I don't disagree with Mark's point that an award for an underexposed film, a kind of "Best Film Not Playing At a Theater Near You" to use the Gotham's parlance, might be in order.   Certainly there are films such as RUNNING STUMBLED, which was nominated for the Film Independent Truer Than Fiction prize at the Spirit Awards, that somehow escape notice of festivals, distributors and film writers and which could benefit from a little spotlight.

There is, however, the question of volume.  Earlier you saw SVA's complaint about the lack of short film category (it's not the first time it's been raised and I have to admit that I'm pretty neutral to the proposal - can't manage to make a strong argument for or against).  We've also had calls for awards for Best Character/Subject from Barbara Kopple, Best Writing and Best Sound from Yance Ford, all in addition to our planned 2009 addition of Outstanding Achievement in Music Score and our desire to introduce an award recognizing an individual achievement in nonfiction during the year.

That makes two awards we're already planning to add (to the nine existing) and calls for at least five more.  Is anyone really ready for a Cinema Eye ceremony with 16 awards to hand out? 

And what if they all go to Alex Gibney?

My Welcome Remarks at the Cinema Eye

I didn't totally stay on script, but this is what I had prepared in advance and reflects the general gist of what I had to say:

"A year ago, a talented filmmaker friend sent me an email lamenting that her relationship was on the rocks because of her constant work and travel.  My reply to her went something like this:  Quit bitching.  You're a documentary filmmaker.  You have people throwing money at you to make whatever project you want.  Distributors are lining up to put out your film.  The press is far more interested in what you do than what narrative filmmakers are doing.  And critics take the time to write at length about your creative choices rather than recite a summary of the events that take place in your film.  In short, you're living the fat life.  You can't expect that your relationships are going to go smoothly too.

In truth, it's not easy to do this thing that we've all chosen to pursue.  Recently, my mom asked me if I was going to make another documentary and I said, "yes of course".  After a brief pause, she said, "Don't you want to make any money?"

And at Sundance this year I was talking to one of the country's leading film critics about this event and I said that I felt it was important for their to be an annual event that recognized the craft of nonfiction filmmaking and she said to me, "there's craft in documentary?"  Now, I'm pretty sure - 90% sure - maybe 70% sure - that she was just needling me, but when another leading critic seems prepetually confused by the difference between cinema verite and direct cinema, really who's to say?

The Cinema Eye Honors exist because we receognize that from the earliest days of the form, filmmakers like Vertov and Flaherty made creative choices, experimenting with cinematography, with editing and yes, with animation.  They staged scenes.  They constructed.  They believed that the Cinema Eye was more true, more truthful than the human eye.

To paraphrase Werner Herzog, I'm not looking for accountant's truth, I'm looking for ecstatic truth.

It is my hope that the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking will always be a home for those who dare.  For those who know that there is no rule book that limits us, no structure that defines us, no topic we cannot tackle nor tool we cannot use.

Because when I look out and see Alex Gibney and Jason Kohn and Pernille Gronkjaer and all the great filmmakers who are here tonight, I don't see journalists.  I don't see activists.  I see artists.  I see craftsmen.  I see filmmakers.

Thank you for your art.  I'm honored to be part of your community."

A Few Reflections on Tuesday's Cinema Eye Honors

Back in Los Angeles after a crazy, wonderful trip to NYC for the first Cinema Eye Honors and still reeling from Tuesday night, which went as well as one could have hoped.   And I won't even qualify that by saying that it went well considering that we only really started talking about this in December.  I think that even if we'd had a full year's planning, I'd have to feel really excited about what happened at the IFC Center.

Stepping onto the stage Tuesday night was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever experienced, an ecstatic blend of happiness, emotion, excitement, joy.  I think that I said more than once during the night that this sort of thing just doesn't happen.  You just don't come up with an idea and have people rally around it so quickly and in so many amazing ways.

I knew going into the night that we had the potential for a really terrific evening.  Our rehearsals had gone really well.  I loved the graphics that Kyle Walters from IndiePix had designed to be projected through the night and I was excited about the montage I had edited of scenes from some of the year's best films.  I also liked how Thom and I complimented one another in our rolls as hosts.  Most of all, I was incredibly excited about our program book, which I had hoped would be a kind of yearbook, looking back at the films and moments in nonfiction in 2007, but which turned out even better than I could have wished.  And I loved the trophies.

Completely out of our hands were this year's winners, but luckily for us, nearly all of the winners were in the audience (only Seth Gordon from KING OF KONG couldn't make it).  And it would be hard to top Jason Kohn's closing acceptance speech, which hit on some of the same themes that gave birth to the awards in a first place, although in profane and hilarious ways.

When Thom and I were talking about what we wanted the ceremony to be, we talked about an event that was both elegant and fun.  You might have heard that I sang a bit at this year's ceremony (this was intended to be the fun part) and I want to give special kudos to Michael Ion Furjanic, our musical director and most excellent DJ, who not only provided a great score to the evening (as he has to films like JESUS CAMP and MANDA BALA), but worked me hard in rehearsal to get the level of energy that I needed for Tuesday's night.

I also want to thank all of our presenters - Marshall Curry, Alan Berliner, Ross Kaufman, Christian Ugbode, Sam Pollard, Molly Thompson, Alex Gibney, Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern, Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky and Barbara Kopple - for lending the elegant air to the proceedings and for being so gracious to Thom and I in their response to the evening.

Congratulations to all of this year's nominees and to all our winners - Jason Kohn, Joey Frank and Jared Goldman (who received the Cinema Eye for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking for MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)), Alex Gibney (who received the Cinema Eye for Outstanding Direction for TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE), Pernille Rose Gronkjær and Sigrid Dyekjær (Cinema Eye for International Feature for THE MONASERY- MR. VIG AND THE NUN), Seth Gordon (Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize for THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS), Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor and Mikael Rieks (Cinema Eye for Outstanding Production for GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL), Doug Abel, Jenny Golden and Andy Grieve (Cinema Eye for Outstanding Editing for MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)), Heloisa Passos (Cinema Eye for Outstanding Cinematography for MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)), Richard WInkler and Lewis Kofsky (Cinema Eye for Outstanding Graphic Design and Animation for CHICAGO 10) and Jennifer Venditti (Cinema Eye for Outstanding Debut for BILLY THE KID).

Finally my deep, deep thanks to everyone who worked so hard these past few months to make this event such a success - from everyone at the IFC Center to the incredibly hard working team at IndiePix - particularly Bob Alexander, Sally Pourde, Danielle DiGiacomo and our event producer Pamela Cohn - who jumped into this effort in December and gave so much of their time and energy to make sure it was an evening I'd never forget.  Finally, thanks to my friend, co-host and co-chair Thom Powers for his support, enthusiasm and guidance.

Onward to 2009!

The Cinema Eye Goes to MANDA BALA - and MONASTERY, BILLY THE KID, TAXI, CITE SOLEIL, CHICAGO 10 & KING OF KONG

Eugene Hernandez has a full report at indieWIRE.

This year's Cinema Eye Recipients:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)
Directed by Jason Kohn
Produced by Joey Frank, Jared Goldman and Jason Kohn

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Alex Gibney
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Heloisa Passos
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation
The Team from Curious Pictures
CHICAGO 10

Outstanding International Feature
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG & THE NUN
Directed by Pernille Rose Gronkjær
Produced by Sigrid Dyekjær

Outstanding Debut Feature
Jennifer Venditti
BILLY THE KID

Audience Choice Prize
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
Directed by Seth Gordo

Like A Dream

Not much to say before I go to sleep other than that this is the kind of thing that just doesn't happen.

Tonight was pretty magical, more than we could have possibly hoped for.

There will be much much more to come.

Barbara Kopple, Alex Gibney, Berlinger & Sinofsky, Robert Drew Among Presenters for Inaugural Cinema Eye Honors

As you can probably imagine, things are getting a little crazy around here, what with my return from SXSW and imminent departure for NYC for the Cinema Eye Honors. Apologies in advance for what may be some spotty blogging over the next week, although I will try to post info about the Full Frame and Tribeca schedules shortly.

But first, some just released news: We are lining up a truly exceptional group of presenters for the first Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. Two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A. and AMERICAN DREAM) is scheduled to present the Honor for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking. She will be joined by legendary documentarian Robert Drew (PRIMARY and CRISIS), Oscar winning filmmakers Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) and Ross Kaufman (BORN INTO BROTHELS), Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (BROTHERS KEEPER, PARADISE LOST), Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern (DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK), Alan Berliner (THE SWEETEST SOUND), Marshall Curry (STREET FIGHT) and acclaimed editor Sam Pollard (WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE).

Thom Powers, host/curator of Stranger Than Fiction and documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, and I will serve as co-chairs and co-hosts for the event Tuesday night at the IFC Center in NYC.

Voting Underway For 2008 Cinema Eye Honors, Thousands Voting for Audience Prize

For the past week, selected voters within the documentary film community have been weighing in with their choices for the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, which will be handed out two weeks from tonight in New York City.  This Friday is the deadline for ballots - just in time before everyone takes off for Austin and SXSW.

Meanwhile, Cinema Eye presenting sponsor IndiePix has announced that voting has opened for the Audience Choice Prize.  As noted in their press release:

"In the words of Bob Alexander, President of IndiePix: "By teaming up with Film Festivals across the US, we have been able to reach out to literally hundreds of thousands of independent film fans who really are the heart and soul of the independent film community. The Audience Choice Award will be decided by votes cast by these independent film fans as well as the film-going public from across the world. Because of this, I believe the winner will feel especially honoured, as it will be the only award of the night which solely reflects the opinion of the film-loving public."

In association with Netflix, the largest online DVD rental service, voters can "add to my queue" to rent the film from Netflix, or alternatively "buy this film", through IndiePix. In addition, IndiePix is also offering an industry leading streaming feature with the highest quality picture and sound available through BroadRamp, the fully-interactive multimedia content delivery system - with no requirements for a special player.

"The participation of Netflix and Broadramp provides the all important interaction between the voting public and the nominated films. The simplicity involved in renting, streaming or buying any one of these films through the Cinema Eye website is fantastic and it is technological advances like this which will continue to strengthen the independent film industry and help filmmakers achieve the recognition they deserve," added Bob Alexander."

A number of top film festivals are encouraging their attendees to participate in the voting process and already thousands have registered their votes.  You can too, just click here.  Audience Prize voting closes on March 10.

In Theatres: Cinema Eye Nominees CHICAGO 10 and THE UNFORESEEN

Two of my favorite nonfiction films of 2007 - Brett Morgan's CHICAGO 10 and Laura Dunn's Spirit Award-winning THE UNFORESEEN - debut in theatres this weekend and both deserve your patronage. 

CHICAGO 10 is opening in, natch, Chicago, as well as progressive hotspots like NYC, SF, LA and Boston.  THE UNFORESEEN opens today in NYC and spreads to the above plus Austin in the coming weeks.

As I wrote about these films in my list of the best of '07, both take imaginative and startling leaps (Happy Leap Day one and all) with craft and style.  And both, deservedly are nominated for Cinema Eye Honors - both in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation, with CHICAGO 10's Brett Morgan and Graydon Carter also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Production.

Recapping the Week That Was (or Stuff to Read While You Recover From Your Sundance Cold)

For those of you who were away from the blog during much of the past week, a refresher course on a week's worth of news and posts:

On Sunday, January 20, nominees for the inaugural CINEMA EYE HONORS FOR NONFICTION FILMMAKING were announced. You can find the full list here. A sampler: INTO GREAT SILENCE and MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) lead all films with six nominations each. LAKE OF FIRE had five. More information can be found over on the IndiePix website.

From Sundance, a series of reports:

Saturday, January 19 - Arriving in Park City and a first round of distribution deals.

Sunday, January 20 - More deals and falling for THE ORDER OF MYTHS.

Monday, January 21 - Thoughts on ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL and AMERICAN TEEN.

Tuesday, January 22 - Briefly noted before seeing WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?.

Wednesday, January 23 - Summing up at the airport and affection for BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER*.

And a recap of thoughts from around the film blogging community posted on Saturday, January 26.

Plus, you can find the two pieces I wrote for indieWIRE here and here (I'll be reposting content from each here in the coming days).

Finally, a bit on the Oscars. My fearless predictions (I went 4 for 5) as well as reaction to the nominations.

Lots more in the coming days, including reviews of the Docs of Sundance 2008 as well as announcements on titles for SXSW and True/False.

IN DEPTH: The Nominees for the 2008 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking

Brazilian corruption, the US misadventure in Iraq, abortion and tales of two very different monasteries are the themes of the five films nominated for the top prize at the inaugural CINEMA EYE HONORS FOR NONFICTION FILMMAKING. With Sunday’s announcement in Park City, the CINEMA EYE HONORS, a new award for nonfiction filmmaking that grew out of debate here over the Academy’s shortlist in November, stands prepared to exist not as a counter-punch to another organization but as a new tradition within the nonfiction community and an important New York-based annual event for documentary excellence.

Together with my co-chair (and the chair of the esteemed nominating committee) Thom Powers (who by day is Documentary Programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival) and filmmaker Margaret Brown (director of this year’s Sundance competition doc THE ORDER OF MYTHS as well as the well-regarded BE HERE TO LOVE ME: A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT), the nominations were revealed at a press conference in Park City, sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and our presenting sponsor, IndiePix.

Jason Kohn’s MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) and Philip Gröning’s INTO GREAT SILENCE led all films with six nominations each. Tony Kaye’s LAKE OF FIRE has five. All three films were nominated in the categories of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Production and Outstanding Cinematography.

Joining those films in the top category are Pernille Rose Gronkær’s THE MONASTERY – MR VIG AND THE NUN and Charles Ferguson’s NO END IN SIGHT.

Ferguson, Gronkjær and Kohn are also nominated in the Outstanding Debut category, joined by Jennifer Venditti for BILLY THE KID and Esther B. Robinson for A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY.

INTO GREAT SILENCE and THE MONASTERY also grabbed nominations in the Outstanding International Feature category. Asger Leth’s GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL, Jennifer Baichwal’s MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES and Weijun Chen’s PLEASE VOTE FOR ME round out the nominees.

In addition to the eight previously-announced categories, we announced a ninth award that is to be voted on by the documentary-watching public. Eight films were selected based on two criteria – a.) they were one of the 15 top theatrical releases of 2007 (based on box office) and b.) they received votes (plural) from our nominating committee in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

Some more stats: THINKFilm leads all distributors with 12 nominations for 5 of its films. Zeitgeist has 9 nominations with it's one-two punch of INTO GREAT SILENCE and MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES.

A total of 25 films were nominated and another 32 films received votes in at least one category. That makes 57 films (out of 76 eligible titles) were named in the voting process.

Obviously, much much more on this to come, but here are the nominees for the 2008 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking
[Award goes to Director and Producer(s)]

INTO GREAT SILENCE
Director - Philip Gröning
Producers - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber

LAKE OF FIRE
Director and Producer - Tony Kaye

MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)
Director - Jason Kohn
Producers - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn

THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN
Director - Pernille Rose Grønkjær
Producer - Sigrid Dyekjær

NO END IN SIGHT
Director - Charles Ferguson
Producers - Jennie Amias, Charles Ferguson & Jessie Vogelson

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
BILLY THE KID
CAT DANCERS
DEEP WATER
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN
FOREVER
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
THE UNFORESEEN
A WALK INTO THE SEA
WE ARE TOGETHER (THIYA SIMUNYE)
ZOO

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

INTO GREAT SILENCE - Philip Gröning
LAKE OF FIRE - Tony Kaye
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) - Jason Kohn
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE - Alex Gibney
ZOO - Robinson Devor

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
BILLY THE KID
CHICAGO 10
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
DOES YOUR SOUL HAVE A COLD?
FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN
FOREVER
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
NO END IN SIGHT
THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA
THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR
PROTAGONIST
SCOTT WALKER: 30TH CENTURY MAN
SICKO
THE UNFORESEEN
A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Achievement in Production

BLINDSIGHT - Sybil Robson Orr
CHICAGO 10 - Brett Morgan & Graydon Carter
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
INTO GREAT SILENCE - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
LAKE OF FIRE - Tony Kaye
MANDA BALA - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
9 STAR HOTEL
ARCTIC TALE
COMRADES IN DREAMS
DARFUR NOW
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS
FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN
HOT HOUSE
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
NO END IN SIGHT
THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA
THE PRICE OF SUGAR
SCOTT WALKER: 30TH CENTURY MAN
SHAME
SHARKWATER
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?
ZOO

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

INTO GREAT SILENCE - Philip Gröning
LAKE OF FIRE - Tony Kaye
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) - Heloisa Passos
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES - Peter Mettler
ZOO - Sean Kirby

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
ARCTIC TALE
BIG RIG
BILLY THE KID
BLINDSIGHT
CHICAGO 10
COMRADES IN DREAMS
DOES YOUR SOUL HAVE A COLD?
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
LAGERFELD CONFIDENTIAL
THE MONASTERY - MR VIG & THE NUN
NOMADAK TX
THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA
SHARKWATER
THE UNFORESEEN
A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY
WAR/DANCE

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

CRAZY LOVE - David Zieff
FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN – Niels Pagh Andersen
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL - Adam Nielsen
LAKE OF FIRE - Peter Goddard
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) - Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
NO END IN SIGHT - Chad Beck and Cindy Lee

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
AUDIENCE OF ONE
BILLY THE KID
DEEP WATER
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
DOUBLETIME
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
FOREVER
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
INTO GREAT SILENCE
JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG & THE NUN
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME
THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
TERROR'S ADVOCATE
THE UNFORESEEN

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation

CHICAGO 10
Animation by Curious Pictures

HELVETICA
Motions Graphics by Trollbäck & Co.

THE PRISONER OR: HOW I PLANNED TO KILL TONY BLAIR
Graphic Design by Petra Epperlein

THE UNFORESEEN
Motion Graphics by Jef Sewell

SUPER AMIGOS
Animation by David Quesnelle

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
BIG RIG
DOES YOUR SOULD HAVE A COLD?
CRAZY LOVE
EVERYTHING'S COOL
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
KING CORN
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
NO END IN SIGHT
OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding Debut Feature
[Award goes to Director]

BILLY THE KID - Jennifer Venditti
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) - Jason Kohn
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN - Pernille Rose Gronkjær
NO END IN SIGHT - Charles Ferguson
A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY - Esther B. Robinson

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Films Receiving Votes:
9 STAR HOTEL
ARCTIC TALE
AUDIENCE OF ONE
CAT DANCERS
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
HEAR AND NOW
HELVETICA
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
SHAME
THE UNFORESEEN
WE ARE TOGETHER (THIYA SIMUNYE)

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Outstanding International Feature
[Award goes to Director and Producer(s)]

GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
Director - Asger Leth
Producers - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor and Mikael Rieks

INTO GREAT SILENCE
Director - Philip Gröning
Producers - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
Director - Jennifer Baichwal
Producers - Jennifer Baichwal, Daniel Iron & Nick de Pencier

THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG & THE NUN
Director - Pernille Rose Grønkjær
Producer - Sigrid Dyekjær

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME
Director - Weijun Chen
Producer - Don Edkins

++++++++++++++++++++++

Other films receiving votes:
9 STAR HOTEL
BLINDSIGHT
COMRADES IN DREAMS
DEEP WATER
FOREVER
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
LOSERS AND WINNERS
THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA
SHAME
TERROR'S ADVOCATE
WE ARE TOGETHER (THIYA SIMUNYE)

++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++

Audience Choice Prize
[Award goes to Director]

DEEP WATER
Directors – Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
Director – David Sington

INTO GREAT SILENCE
Director - Philip Gröning

JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
Director – Julien Temple

THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS
Director – Seth Gordon

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
Director – Jennifer Baichwal

NO END IN SIGHT
Director - Charles Ferguson

SICKO
Director – Michael Moore

Reactions to the New Awards for Nonfiction

Lots of response around the web today following our announcement of the new awards for nonfiction filmmaking and the release of the inaugural shortlist.  Here's a bit of it:

Paul Harrill at Self-Reliant Filmmaking:

"The new awards are a direct response to the Oscars. From recent debates over confusing (and shifting) eligibility guidelines, to its long history of jaw-dropping omissions (e.g., neither Hoop Dreams nor The Thin Blue Line were even nominated their respective years), the Academy’s treatment of the genre has long been a source of consternation and disappointment for many within the documentary community. That’s not to say that many worthy films haven’t been nominated and awarded over the years… but clearly the AMPAS doesn’t give documentary the attention that it does to fictional feature films."

Eric D. Snider at Cinematical:

"I still have this question: Is Schnack & Co's list any better than Oscar's, or is it just different? It still boils down to a committee's own opinions and preferences. For example, The King of Kong, a huge audience favorite and certainly an excellent documentary, isn't on either shortlist."

Eric Lavalle at IONCINEMA:

"In recent years I've often criticized the Academy Awards for not having the foresight and fortitude to include docu films that have not only completely reinvigorated the genre, but have pushed the medium to new possible artistic and narrative terrains. This year's short list of 15 titles only further confirms that the Academy has tremendous difficulty in acknowledging the wider scope of films that merit year-end salutations. The formula for the docu-filmmaking and docu movie-going experience has significantly changed since Y2K, yet the most prestigious award film ceremony seems to come up short when it comes to new trends in storytelling and filmmaking."

More from David Hudson, Karina Longworth, Anne Thompson, Alison Willmore, Sasha Stone, Sujewa Elanayake, The Film Panel Notetaker, UNFORESEEN producer & graphic designer Jef Sewell and nominating committee members Matt Dentler and Brit Withey.

And thanks to everyone for the many emails today.  Much more to come...

The Birth of a New Award for Nonfiction

This idea, that there should be awards for nonfiction that recognized the breadth of the genre and included the crafts of cinematography and editing and producing, has been simmering for more than a year. 

Little moments began to build.  I was dumbfounded that groups like the ASC - the American Society of Cinematographers - didn't give an award for cinematography in nonfiction features.  I was surprised to see filmmakers twist themselves and their bank accounts into knots trying to qualify via the Academy's byzantine and oft-changing rules.

Last summer, at the AFI Silverdocs film festival, I found myself in several conversations about the Academy and its qualification procedures.  I'd see filmmakers stressed, wondering where they'd get the money or whether they'd be able to qualify through the IDA's DocuWeek.  And at some point, sitting with filmmakers and others from within our community, I began to insist that the only way to fix this broken system with the Academy was to dilute the hypnotic power it seemed to hold over filmmakers.  And one way to do that was to create a new award, one that would salute the craftspersons and artists who work in nonfiction.  One that would not be subject to the same bizarre requirements and mysterious screening committees.  One that truly grew from within the community.

My first thought, at least the one I proposed in Silver Spring with at least one drink consumed, was that this was a job that should be handled by an existing entity - perhaps the IDA with an expanded list of awards that included areas of craft, or maybe a top nonfiction festival like Silverdocs.

But it soon became clear that these organizations and others had their hands more than full.  Getting someone else do take on this project would take years of persuasion (of boards, sponsors, etc.).

So, with Silverdocs completed, I returned to Los Angeles with this little idea tucked away.

Then came the Academy Shortlist.

It was five months later and I was in Denver, serving on the documentary jury of the Film Festival, when I started getting text messages from others in the nonfiction community.  Each message was increasingly incredulous - "Did you hear?"  What followed would be the shock of film after film after film - films believed to be some of the year's best - not having made the Academy's Shortlist.

For those of us who had spent the previous year on the road watching nonfiction films at festivals from Toronto to Park City to Oxford to Columbia, MO to Durham, NC to New York (and on and on), the list was staggering.  You'd expect that one or two of your favorites might not be selected.  That always happens.  But this list - it didn't look at all like the year that we'd experienced.

Almost immediately - while still in Denver - I began to talk again about the idea of these awards. There was a sense of immediacy.  I felt like something needed to be done and done quickly.

But what? 

I wrote two pieces online (here and here) that summarized my strong feelings about the Academy's Shortlist. In the second of these, I wrote the following:

"And one must look to a new body, be it the American Film Institute or some consortium of festivals or some brand new organization to stand up for, to recognize filmmaking craft, to support innovation and risk-taking.  To say damn what is important, damn the issues, we stand with artists."

What followed surprised me.  I began to hear from other filmmakers, from people within the industry, from Academy members.  They affirmed the feelings I had expressed here on the blog.  Academy members told me that the list was "a scandal".  With a rolling of eyes, they'd tell me about the "out-of-touch" screening committee members who were sent a box of DVDs to screen on television.

This is what some filmmakers paid tens of thousands of dollars for?  The opportunity to be thrown into a box and randomly watched on television?  There's got to be a better way.

Over Thanksgiving, I wondered why couldn't someone come up with eligibility criteria that wouldn't require jumping through hoops, undercover theatrical runs or massive outlays of cash.  One that wouldn't disqualify you over a rogue foreign broadcast.  A criteria that would truly focus on the films that mattered during the year.

I began to pull the film lists from North America's nine top festivals for nonfiction, beginning with Toronto 2006, and continuing in 2007 with Sundance, True/False, SXSW, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Tribeca, Silverdocs and Los Angeles.  Then I pulled box office reports.  I decided that films would be eligible if they fulfilled one of 4 criteria:

• They had screened at three of the nine festivals.

• They had screened at two of the nine festivals and had received a jury or audience prize.

• They had screened at two of the nine festivals and had reported theatrical box office of at least $5,000.

• They had reported theatrical box office of at least $20,000.

From these criteria, 76 films became eligible - six more than the Academy qualified via their controversial 14-city, 10-state requirement and not a dollar spent by anyone.

I sent out a few emails with tales of how I spent part of my Thanksgiving weekend.  One person I emailed was Danielle DiGiacomo, who I had seen often throughout the year at a number of festivals representing her company, IndiePix, which distributes indie film online and where Danielle serves as Documentary Film Coordinator.  I knew that IndiePix had provided great support (financially and otherwise) to one of my favorite films of 2007, BILLY THE KID, and from my conversations with Danielle - and comments she had left in response to my pieces on the Academy Shortlist - I thought that she might be interested in this budding idea.

The next day, I got emails from Danielle and Bob Alexander at IndiePix inviting me to come to New York.

From here, everything began to move at lightning speed.  I spoke to my old friend John Vanco at the IFC Center in New York, which has been a true champion for documentaries this year, and we had a venue for the awards.  I went to New York and had several meetings with the folks at IndiePix.  I grabbed coffee with Thom Powers, the Documentary Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival and the programmer/host of NYC's Stranger Than Fiction documentary series, and asked him to work with me on the project.  Together, he and I invited the programmers of many of the top film festivals in North America to form the nominating committee, for it is they who have seen these films, made judgments about them and truly have a sense of the best films of the year.  Each of these programmers quickly and enthusiastically joined our accelerated effort.  And finally, IndiePix came aboard, enthusiastically, as our presenting partner and sponsor.

[Full disclosure - IndiePix has also become the sponsor for the festival coverage that you will see on this blog in 2007.  Further full disclosure - To avoid conflicts of interest, I withdrew my film, KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON, from consideration for these awards.  Although I truly believe that my producer, cinematographer and animation team are deserving of nominations and recognition, they are gonna have take one for the team.  As noted above, IndiePix helped produce BILLY THE KID, but since the nominating committee was unaware of IndiePix involvement in these awards at the time of their voting, I believe that BILLY THE KID should be under consideration for these awards.  I did not vote in the nominating process.]

And so, today, we have our announcement.  I will be honest, this is the kind of thing that a sensible person would probably allow a year to plan, but we are compelled to act now, in this year.  I am honored that so many people who I respect have so quickly joined us in this effort.

I am especially proud of the list of 15 films that were announced today as our own shortlist.  It is, I would humbly submit, an exceptional list of many of the year's great films, films that pushed creative and artistic boundaries.  I'm sure that 1 or 2 of your favorites are missing, as are mine, but I'm incredibly pleased that our nominating committee - working independently and submitting their votes privately - collectively agreed on these 15 films as representative of the best of 2007.

From these 15 films, we will announce five titles in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Features.  From our list of 76, we will announce nominees in seven other categories - Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing, Graphic Design & Animation, International Feature and Debut Feature.  This announcement will come in less than two weeks, at an event in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival.

Three months ago, I could not have imagined that we'd be here, launching this endeavor.  I hope that, when we gather together in New York City in March, these awards will be the beginning of an annual event that has real meaning within our community, a time when we honor one another and everyone who plays a role in the artistry of nonfiction filmmaking.  For at least this one night, we will turn to one another not as journalists, not as agents of social justice, but as filmmakers, artists and craftspeople. 

I look forward to seeing you then.

A New Nonfiction Shortlist for a New Award

As part of today's announcement of the upcoming, inaugural Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, we have revealed a shortlist of 15 films, selected by a blue ribbon committee of film festival programmers.  These 15 films were the top vote getters in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking.  From this shortlist, five films will be nominated in the top category, with nominations to be announced in two weeks at an event in Park City, Utah.

The shortlisted films are:

BILLY THE KID
DEEP WATER
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
INTO GREAT SILENCE
LAKE OF FIRE
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET)
THE MONASTERY - MR. VIG AND THE NUN
NO END IN SIGHT
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
THE UNFORESEEN
ZOO

indieWIRE has more here.

In seven other categories, including prizes for Direction, Production, Cinematography, Editing, Graphic Design and Animation, International Feature and Debut Feature, nominees will be chosen by the nominating committee from 76 eligible films.

The nominating committee included programmers from North America's top film festivals:
Thom Powers (Chair), Documentary Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival
Phoebe Brush, Director of Programming, Full Frame Film Festival
Matt Dentler, Producer, South by Southwest Film Festival
Sean Farnel, Director of Programming, Hot Docs
Tom Hall, Director of Programming, Sarasota Film Festival
David Kwok, Director of Programming, Tribeca Film Festival
Cara Mertes, Director of Sundance Documentary Film Program, Sundance Film Festival
David Nugent, Director of Programming, Hamptons International Film Festival
Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming, Los Angeles Film Festival
Sky Sitney, Director of Programming, SilverDocs
David Wilson, Director, True/False Film Festival
Brit Withey, Artistic Director of Festivals, Starz Denver Film Festival

BREAKING: The Announcement of a New Award for Nonfiction Filmmaking

I'm pleased to join my colleagues in announcing a new award for nonfiction filmmaking.   indieWIRE has the story:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' recent announcement of the short list of films competing for the best documentary Oscar stirred frustration among a community of filmmakers and insiders back in November. Fueled by online discussion via blogs, a coalition within the nonfiction and film festval community is launching a new outlet to celebrate the best documentary films of the year. Seeking to challenge the results of other institutions, filmmaker AJ Schnack, a vocal critic of the Oscar list, has enlisted the support of online independent film distributor IndiePix and the opinions of a host of North American film festival programmers to launch a new nonfiction filmmaking awards event, set for March 18, 2008 at IFC Center in New York City.

"In November, when the Oscar short list came out, it seemed to so many people that it was not reflective of the year we all experienced in documentary," Schnack, whose "Kurt Cobain About A Son" was released last year, explained during a conversation with indieWIRE on Friday. Schnack secured the support of IndiePix and enlisted Toronto International Film Festival doc programmer Thom Powers to co-chair the new awards event.

(...)

Noting that other organizations seem to emphasize content and issue-driven work rather than focus on the art of nonfiction film, AJ Schnack explained that the new documentary awards were designed as, "a way to focus on some of the craft elements in non-fiction filmmaking."

"You can only bitch about documentaries not getting their due for so long before you have to do something," event co-chair Thom Powers told indieWIRE today. "The various pre-existing awards each have their strengths, but none seem to be reflecting the depth and range of talent that I witnessed in 2007. That feeling was shared by many doc makers I talked to. I think this honor is a nice complement to the others."

From the press release:

A new nonfiction filmmaking award, recognizing the wide breadth of the genre and also specific crafts such as cinematography and editing, is being created from within the documentary community. The inaugural event, honoring films from 2007, will be held on March 18, 2008 at the IFC Center in New York City.  The awards are to be co-chaired by filmmaker AJ Schnack (director of “Kurt Cobain About a Son”) and Thom Powers, Documentary Programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival.   

IndiePix, the internet based distributor of independent film, has joined Mr. Schnack and Mr. Powers in this effort and will be the presenting partner and sponsor for the innaugural awards, it was announced today by Bob Alexander, President of IndiePix. 

Nominees in 8 categories will be announced on January 20, 2008 at an event for press and the documentary community in Park City, UT (coinciding with the Sundance Film Festival). On that date further details will be revealed about the award, including its official name. 

You can read the entire press release and get more information here.

The Shortlist Fallout

Lots of folks have been writing, calling, texting and generally commmunicating about our previous posts (here and here) on the Oscar Doc Shortlist.  Thanks to all who've been in touch - even (and perhaps especially) those that have disagreed.  Obviously it was a piece that I hoped would spur discussion.  In addition to the raft of responses to my commentary here at the blog, there's been more conversation spurred elsewhere.

Here's some of that:

Danielle DiGiacomo weighed in here as well as at the Indiepix blog:

"I remember when the Academy finally recognized Errol Morris (the reason I became interested in documentary filmmaking) in 2004. He said “I’d like to thank the Academy for finally recognizing my films. Thank you so very, very, very much! I thought it would never happen.” At the time, I thought he was being cocky and arrogant. (And having seen him speak several times, I can’t say he is not both of these.) However, his frustration at not having been recognized previously is completely fair. The fact that last year a filmed Power Point presentation (featuring a bold-faced name and huge box office numbers) won the award, proves AJ’s point that the Academy only sometimes (seemingly begrudgingly) recognizes that documentary filmmaking is not limited to reconstructions - dry, sentimental, whatever - of historic events - but is truly an artform that illuminates and questions the truths and experiences of everyday life."

Agnes Varnum has weighed in on my post a few times on her excellent blog.  But in a post today, she took issue with the last sentence of Danielle's post and uses it to start a conversation about Tony Kaye's LAKE OF FIRE (which made the Shortlist) as well as ruminate on her own mixed emotions about the whole Oscar thing:

"Lake of Fire could do no more to illuminate a current struggle, as far as I’m concerned, so I can emphatically disagree with Danielle about this particular film and her comment. But, I also reacted strongly to criticism of Billy the Kid (Danielle was credited as associate producer on it). It is a film that sparked discussion among those who saw it and to my mind also illuminates the human experience in a profound way. This is where my reaction to the Oscar list stumps me because I understand that what moves and excites me is not necessarily what will move or excite Academy voters. They are of a certain socio-economic group that wants to not only recognize good film but have the right people at their cocktail parties, so what excites them is going to be different.

I don’t want to minimize the work of those on the shortlist. When I said “uninspiring” in a previous post, it was unfair because it was about the totality of the list as opposed to a critique of the films. I think this boils down to naivete about what this award is. To think that it is democratic or fair in any way is to be disappointed. It is guided by the hands of a select few. AJ might just have convinced me over the course of the year that all one had to do was to qualify to be on equal footing, and I too had hopes that some of these outstanding works might be accepted by the establishment. But those who comprise the establishment aren’t ready, and maybe never will be. They gravitate toward a certain kind of film (big issue-oriented, traditional styling). Maybe it will take a turnover in members to change the course, and that will be more than a few years. If Richard Robbins (Operation Homecoming) were to win, he would be on the voting body and might place his vote for a film like Manda Bala, for example."

Earlier, Agnes' blog served as a forum for Shortlisted directors Tricia Regan (AUTISM: THE MUSICAL) and RIchard Robbins (OPERATION HOMECOMING), who have also posted here.

Meanwhile, Ingrid Kopp at Shooting From the Hip finds herself agreeing with the criticism:

"I was really disappointed that films like Billy The Kid, We Are Together, Manda Bala, and The King of Kong didn’t make the list. The King of Kong is one of the funniest and most skillfully constructed documentaries I have seen in a long time and I wish that films like this would get more recognition just for being great films and telling great stories."

Stepping in for the always reliable Karina Longworth (still recovering from our days in Denver no doubt) at the Spout Blog, Chris Campbell writes:

"Other favorites not shortlisted include In the Shadow of the Moon, The Devil Came on Horseback, My Kid Could Paint That … I could go on and on. I guess it’s a good thing that there are in fact so many great documentaries being made in the world that we have to close the door on some. Yet I wonder why there couldn’t be a music doc once in awhile — Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten has been well-received. And what about my favorite documentary of the year, The Life of Reilly. Honestly, it isn’t a good enough FILM to be nominated, but if An Inconvenient Truth can win the award, certainly this monologue movie could be shortlisted."

At the Salt Lake City Tribune, film critic Sean P. Means casts his vote:

"My pick for biggest snub is Manufactured Landscapes, Jennifer Baichwal's brilliant and beautifully photographed look at photographer Edward Burtynsky and his work - which casts a light on what industry is doing to the Earth. Close behind was the fascinating "Deep Water," about an amateur sailor in over his head in an around-the-world race."

I would have loved to have seen Manufactured Landscapes on the list - but I have to say that this made me laugh a little bit, cause Sean thought that my film was "self-consciously arty".   Ah, God bless 'em.

Bob Turnbull at Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind writes:

"I've only seen "Please Vote For Me" (which was great, but a big surprise), but certainly expected "No End In Sight" to be in the running and am not surprised at "Lake Of Fire" and "For The Bible tells Me So" (from what I've heard about them and their subject matter). But there seems to be an absence of, I don't know...something different, something to root for...something like "Audience Of One", "Helvetica", "Wordplay" or "The Bridge"."

Meanwhile, reacting not to my commentary but to the list itself, Matt Dentler congra