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.

Comments

[Katie Brosnan]

how does a film qualify? can you direct me to a link?

[David Lowery]

Also, why no short films? Does that broaden the field too much? (apologies if this question has been dealt with in the past).

[AJ Schnack]

Films qualify by one of four criteria:

1.) Playing at three of the following festivals: Sundance, True/False, SXSW, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Tribeca, Cannes, Silverdocs, Los Angeles, Toronto and IDFA.

2.) Playing at two of the above festivals and winning an audience or jury prize at one of them.

3.) Playing at two of the above festivals and reporting at least $5,000 in North American box office receipts.

4.) Reporting at least $20,000 in North American box office receipts.

We are considering a way to recognize short films this year, but we will only be adding one new award for 2009.

[Hennegan Bros]

Thanks AJ. It's a shit show out here in doc land getting recognized. Appreciate the nod.

Peace,

Hennegan Brothers
www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com