Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, which follows two brothers who run a bird hospital dedicated to rescuing injured black kites, took the top prize, winning the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking as well as the award for Cinematography at the 16th annual edition of the Cinema Eye Honors.
Fire of Love, Sara Dosa’s documentary about intrepid husband-and-wife volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft received three honors—the most of the evening won by any single film—for Outstanding Editing, Outstanding Visual Design (tied with Moonage Daydream) and Outstanding Original Score
Laura Poitras won Outstanding Direction for All The Beauty And The Bloodshed, which follows the life and work of photographer and activist Nan Goldin.
In the Visual Design category, Stefan Nadelman took home the trophy for Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream (tied with Fire of Love), which illuminates the life and genius of David Bowie.
Also receiving two awards was Daniel Roher’s Navalny, a nonfiction film that follows the Russian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Alexei Navalny in real time as he recovers from an assassination attempt. Navalny‘s producing team won the Outstanding Achievement in Production award, and the film also took home the Audience Choice Prize, an award voted on by documentary fans around the world.
This year’s ceremony opened with an emotional tribute to documentary pioneer Julia Reichert, a Cinema Eye winner and godmother of American independent documentary, Reichert died in December. Her husband and filmmaking partner, Steven Bognar, talked about Julia’s passion for her beloved documentary community.
Whitney Museum Curator Chrissie Iles announced this year’s Legacy Award, which was given to Terry Zwigoff for Crumb, his 1994 landmark portrait of artist Robert Crumb.
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
All That Breathes
Directed and Produced by Shaunak Sen
Produced by Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Laura Poitras
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Fire of Love
Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
All That Breathes
Ben Bernhard and Riju Das
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Navalny
Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris
Outstanding Achievement in Original Score
Fire of Love
Nicolas Godin
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Moonage Daydream
Samir Foco, John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design (tie)
Fire of Love
Lucy Munger, Kara Blake, and Rui Ting Ji
Moonage Daydream
Stefan Nadelman
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
The Territory
Directed by Alex Pritz
Audience Choice Prize
Navalny
Directed by Daniel Roher
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film for Broadcast
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes
Directed by James Jones | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Series
Black and Missing
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles | HBO Documentary Films/HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Anthology Series
How To with John Wilson (Season Two)
Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman, Clark Reinking and John Wilson, Executive Producers | HBO
Outstanding Achievement in Editing in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast
We Need to Talk About Cosby
Meg Ramsay | Showtime
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Nonfiction Film or Series for Broadcast
Playing With Sharks
Michael Taylor, Judd Overton, Nathan Barlow and Toby Ralph | Disney+
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
Nuisance Bear
Directed by Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden
Legacy Award
Crumb
Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Heterodox Award
Aftersun
Directed by Charlotte Wells
Spotlight Award
Master of Light
Directed by Rosa Ruth Boesten