Cartel Land, Matthew Heineman’s gripping account of violence and vigilantes on both sides of the US-Mexico border, led the nominations for 9th Cinema Eye Honors awards for Nonfiction Filmmaking, with five nominations, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature. It is joined in the top category by Asif Kapadia’s Amy, Camilla Neilsson’s Democrats, Stevan Riley’s Listen to Me Marlon, Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence. The latter, which received four nominations, and Cartel Land were the only films nominated for Outstanding Feature, Direction, Production and Cinematography.
Other films that received multiple nominations include the mountain climbing thriller Meru (4 nominations); Amy, Heart of a Dog, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Wolfpack (3 nominations); Best of Enemies, Democrats, Listen to Me Marlon, The Nightmare, Uncertain and Western (2 nominations).
Winners of the 9th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will be announced Wednesday, January 13, 2016 in New York at the Museum of the Moving Image.
The complete list of nominations for 9th Cinema Eye Honors
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
“Amy”
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Produced by James Gay-Rees
“Cartel Land”
Directed by Matthew Heineman
Produced by Tom Yellin
“Democrats”
Directed by Camilla Nielsson
Produced by Henrik Veileborg
“Listen to Me Marlon”
Directed by Stevan Riley
Produced by John Battsek, George Chignell and R.J. Cutler
“The Look of Silence”
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen
“The Wolfpack”
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Produced by Crystal Moselle and Izabella Tzenkova
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Matthew Heineman, “Cartel Land”
Kim Longinotto, “Dreamcatcher”
Laurie Anderson, “Heart of a Dog”
Frederick Wiseman, “In Jackson Heights”
Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker, David Usui & Ben Wu, “In Transit”
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Look of Silence”
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Chris King, “Amy”
Aaron Wickenden and Eileen Meyer, “Best of Enemies”
James Scott, “How to Change the World”Brett Morgen and Joe Neshenkovsky, “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
Stevan Riley, “Listen to Me Marlon”
Outstanding Achievement in Production
Tom Yellin, “Cartel Land”
Henrik Veileborg, “Democrats”
Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright and Kristen Vaurio, “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”Signe Byrge Sørensen, “The Look of Silence”
Jimmy Chin, Chai Vasarhelyi and Shannon Etheridge, “Meru”
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwoll, “Cartel Land”
Lars Skree, “The Look of Silence”
Renan Ozturk, “Meru”
Ewan McNicol, “Uncertain”
Bill Ross and Turner Ross, “Western”
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television
“Deep Web”
Directed by Alex Winter
Produced by Marc Schiller, Alex Winter and Glen Zipper
For EPIX: Executive Producers Jill Burkhart and Ross Bernard
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
Directed by Alex Gibney
Produced by Alex Gibney, Kristen Vaurio and Lawrence Wright
For HBO Documentary Films: Supervising Producer Sara Bernstein and Executive Producer Sheila Nevins
“Outbreak”
Directed by Dan Edge
Produced by Dan Edge and Sasha Joelle Achilli
For Frontline/PBS: Coordinating Producer Carla Borras and Executive Producers Raney Aronson-Rath and David Fanning
“Private Violence”
Directed and Produced by Cynthia Hill
For HBO Documentary Films: Senior Producer Nancy Abraham and Executive Producer Sheila Nevins
“Whitey: The United States of America vs. James J. Bulger”
Directed by Joe Berlinger
Produced by Joe Berlinger and Caroline Suh
For CNN Films: Supervising Producer Courtney Sexton and Executive Producers Vinnie Malhotra and Amy Entelis
Audience Choice Prize
“Amy”
Directed by Asif Kapadia
“Best of Enemies”
Directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
Directed by Alex Gibney
“The Hunting Ground”
Directed by Kirby Dick
“Iris”
Directed by Albert Maysles
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
Directed by Brett Morgen
“Meru”
Directed by Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Directed by Liz Garbus
“Where to Invade Next”
Directed by Michael Moore
“The Wolfpack”
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
“Kings of Nowhere”
Directed by Betzabé Garcia
“Peace Officer”
Directed by Brad Barber and Scott Christopherson
“Pervert Park”
Directed by Frida Barkfors and Lasse Barkfors
“The Russian Woodpecker”
Directed by Chad Gracia
“Uncertain”
Directed by Ewan McNicol and Anna Sandilands
“The Wolfpack”
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Jackson Greenberg and Scott Salinas, “Cartel Land”
Laurie Anderson, “Heart of a Dog”
J. Ralph, “Meru”
Jonathan Snipes, “The Nightmare”
Casey McAllister, “Western”
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Nominees TBD, “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
Laurie Anderson, “Heart of a Dog”
Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsin, “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
Syd Garon, “The Nightmare”
Ryan Green and Josh Larson, “Thank You for Playing”
Spotlight Award
“Almost There”
Directed by Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden
“Barge”
Directed by Ben Powell
“Field Niggas”
Directed by Khalik Allah
“Frame by Frame”
Directed by Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli
“(T)error”
Directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe
“Toto and His Sisters”
Directed by Alexandre Nanău
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
“The Breath”
Directed by Fabian Kaiser
“Buffalo Juggalos”
Directed by Scott Cummings
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah”
Directed by Adam Benzine
“The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul”
Directed by Kitty Green
“Hotel 22”
Directed by Elizabeth LoDocumentary
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Award Winning Ebola Documentary BODY TEAM 12 to Debut on HBO in February 2016
BODY TEAM 12, winner of the Tribeca Film Festival award for best documentary short has been acquired by HBO Documentary Films and will debut on HBO in February 2016. BODY TEAM 12, recently nominated for an International Documentary Association award for best short, is directed by journalist-filmmaker and RYOT Co-Founder David Darg, who put his life at risk by embedding with a team of heroic Liberian Red Cross workers tasked with collecting the dead during the height of the Ebola outbreak.
Executive produced by Paul G. Allen and actress Olivia Wilde, and produced by RYOT Co-Founder Bryn Mooser, BODY TEAM 12 lays bare the heartbreaking but lifesaving work of removing bodies from loved ones in order to halt the transmission of the disease. The filmmakers capture devasting and poignant images, shot on the ground in Monrovia, Liberia, that reveal the Ebola crisis through the story of Garmai Sumo, the sole female member of the body collection team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eT2P1TfB8
Director David Darg states, “The bravery of these young Liberians was an astounding phenomenon to witness, as they risked their lives every day to save the lives of others, and to save their country from Ebola. BODY TEAM 12 is a tribute to those heroes, and it is our hope that a presentation on HBO will honor these body teams and lead to greater exposure of their determination and tireless efforts.”
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CITY OF TREES Documents DC Community’s Fight for Jobs and Safe Parks | TRAILER
CITY OF TREES which documents one community’s fight for equal access to good jobs and safe parks in our nation’s capital, have its midwest premiere as an official selection in the 24th annual St. Louis International Film Festival. City of Trees had its world premiere at the 13th annual American Conservation Film Festival on October 25 in Shepherdstown, WV.
Directed by Brandon Kramer, City of Trees documents a period in the lives of Charles, Michael, James and Steve when their lives intersect with stimulus resources designed to make change in DC.
City of Trees follows the lifecycle and aftermath of a $2.7 million stimulus grant awarded to DC-based nonprofit Washington Parks & People. With the grant, Parks & People launches the ‘Green Corps’ as an introduction in urban forestry to DC residents in communities hardest hit by the recession. For Charles, the paycheck offers him a chance to give his newborn daughter the life he never had and escape the cycle of violence that already impacted his younger brother. For Michael, the job training is a first step forward after a drug conviction permanently marred his employment record. For James, a Ward 8 native in his late 50s, the position offers a chance to prove that his experience and wisdom is an asset. For Steve, the president of Washington Parks & People, the grant offers the opportunity to elevate the impact of his organization’s work — and the challenge of finding the resources to continue the program after the short-term stimulus dollars run out.
A film about normal people fighting to provide for themselves, their families and environment, City of Trees offers a critical new perspective on the challenges of retraining our workforce and rebuilding the natural environments in our cities for the 21st century. What sounds like a simple goal — putting people back to work by planting trees in a blighted neighborhood — opens up a complex web of personal and community challenges. In the age of recession and rebuilding, City of Trees documents a story representative of the hopes and struggles of countless Americans impacted by the recession.
https://vimeo.com/117641253
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Award-winning Israeli Documentary, CENSORED VOICES, Gets November Release Date | TRAILER
Mor Loushy’s award-winning provocative Israeli documentary CENSORED VOICES presents for the first time ever the uncensored recordings of intimate conversations between Israeli soldiers and renowned author Amos Oz, immediately following the 1967 Six Day War in which Israel captured Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Winner of the Ophir (Israeli Oscar) winner for Best Documentary, CENSORED VOICES was selected as the Opening Night film of the Other Israel Film Festival in New York, and will open in New York at Lincoln Plaza Cinema on November 20th, and in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Royal and Town Center on Friday, November 27. A national release will follow.
The 1967 ‘Six-Day’ war ended with Israel’s decisive victory; it is portrayed to this day, as a righteous undertaking – a radiant emblem of Jewish pride. Yet, behind the euphoria and a proud new national narrative of invincibility are other voices with something different to say. Future renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. Originally censored by the Israeli army, the recordings provide an unfiltered lens into the Israeli zeitgeist as the country turned from David to Goliath. The recordings resulted in a best-selling book which form the basis of CENSORED VOICES.
The soldiers’ harrowing confessions, combined with rare archival footage and evocative sound design, create a sense of stunning immediacy. As they wrestle with the systemic excision of Palestinians, the dehumanizing nature of war, and echoes of the Holocaust, we watch as these men, now almost 50 years older, hear the recordings for the first time, and the past erupts, presciently, into the present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oB8EFlf4-M
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HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY to US Premiere at DOC NYC 2015 | TRAILER
HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY, which will have its US PREMIERE at the upcoming DOC NYC 2015. HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY is directed by Academy Award Nominee Daniel Raim, Executive Produced by Danny DeVito and features many familiar faces including Harold Michelson, Lillian Michelson, Danny DeVito, Francis Ford Coppola, Mel Brooks, Anahid Nazarian, Rick Carter, Tom Walsh, Jim Bissell, Marc Wanamaker, Bill Krohn, Norman Newberry, and Gene Allen.
Academy Award®-nominated director Daniel Raim and Executive Producer Danny DeVito (Pulp Fiction, Man on the Moon) present HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY, a fascinating and deeply moving account of the romantic and creative partnership of storyboard artist Harold Michelson and his wife, film researcher Lillian Michelson—a talented couple once considered “the heart of Hollywood.”
Harold and Lillian worked on hundreds of iconic films during Hollywood’s golden age including The Ten Commandments, The Apartment, The Birds, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, Fiddler On The Roof, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Scarface, Full Metal Jacket and more.
Although the couple was responsible for some of Hollywood’s most iconic examples of visual storytelling, their contributions remain largely uncredited. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Coppola and others, this heartfelt documentary chronicles their remarkable relationship and two extraordinary careers spanning six decades of movie-making history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RuCqsZhkLE
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Cuban Drag Racing Documentary HAVANA MOTOR CLUB by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt to Get 2016 Release | TRAILER
Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s “Havana Motor Club” which had its world premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival is set to be released in 2016 via Samuel Goldwyn Films.
HAVANA MOTOR CLUB tells a personal, character-driven story about Cuba’s vibrant community of underground drag racers and their quest to hold Cuba’s first official car race since shortly after the 1959 Revolution. It tackles how Cuba’s recent reforms — the owning of property, allowance of small businesses, and greater exchange between Cubans, Cuban Americans, tourists, and other foreigners — have affected the lives of these racers and their families.
One racer enlists the help of a Cuban American patron in Miami to bring in parts for his modern Porsche. His main competitor is a renowned mechanic who uses ingenuity rather than resources to create a racing machine out of his 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Another racer ponders whether he will participate in the race or sell his motor — one that he recovered on the ocean floor from a ship used to smuggle Cubans off the island — in order to flee Cuba on a raft headed to Florida.
Meanwhile, the race itself is in jeopardy of coming to fruition due to factors ranging from its status as an elitist sport to the arrival of the Pope in Cuba. Through the experiences of these racers and their community, HAVANA MOTOR CLUB explores how Cuba is changing today but also what its future holds in light of Obama’s recent move to normalize relations with the island nation.
Perlmutt previously co-directed the documentary “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel,” about the prolific Harpers Bazaar editor. The film was also released by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUTeldvSM3s
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“Noma: My Perfect Storm” Documentary on World’s Best Restaurant to Premiere at DOC NYC and Opens in Theaters on Dec. 18
“Noma: My Perfect Storm,” the documentary on the World’s Best Restaurant will have its North American premiere at 2015 DOC NYC before being released in theaters, On Demand and on iTunes on Dec. 18 via Magnolia Pictures.
The documentary directed by Pierre Deschamps, follows celebrated chef Rene Redzepi against the backdrop of his Copenhagen-based restaurant called Noma,which was voted The World’s Best Restaurant in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
Inspired by two books written by celebrated chef René Redzepi, the film follows him on a culinary journey as he travels to find inspiration for creating novel dishes for travelers from around the world.
Noma: My Perfect Storm is a creative journey into the mind of René Redzepi.
How did he manage to revolutionize the entire world of gastronomy, inventing the alphabet and vocabulary that would infuse newfound pedigree to Nordic cuisine and establish a new edible world while radically changing the image of the modern chef? His story has the feel of a classic fairy tale: the ugly duckling transformed into a majestic swan, who now reigns over the realm of modern gourmet cuisine. But beneath the polished surface, cracks appear in the form of old wounds. 2013 stands as the worst year in René Redzepi’s career.
We follow him as he fights his way back to the top, reinventing NOMA and reclaiming the title of best restaurant in the world in 2014 for the fourth time.
https://vimeo.com/139779858
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DADDY DON’T GO, Executive Produced by Omar Epps & Malik Yoba, to Premiere at 2015 DOCNYC

DADDY DON’T GO directed by Emily Abt, and Executive Produced by Omar Epps (Resurrection) & Malik Yoba (Empire) will premiere at the 2015 DOC NYC on November 14th. “Daddy Don’t Go” captures two years in the lives of four disadvantaged fathers in New York City as they fight to defy the odds against them.
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Cancer Documentary, THE C WORD, Narrated by Morgan Freeman to Premiere at DOC NYC | TRAILER
The documentary, THE C WORD, which takes on the institutions preventing meaningful progress in the ways we currently treat cancer, will have its NYC premiere at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 15, 2015.
Directed by cancer survivor Meghan O’Hara (producer of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Sicko) and narrated by Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, THE C WORD mixes the personal stories of Meghan and celebrated neurosurgeon and cancer revolutionary Dr. David Servan-Schreiber with an in-depth exploration of the systemic societal failings that predispose Americans to cancer, and follows a vibrant cast of characters who are changing the game.
From executive producer Morgan Freeman comes THE C WORD, a bold new film that will forever change the way we view cancer. At its heart are powerful twin narratives: one from
celebrated French neuroscientist and cancer revolutionary Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, the other from THE C WORD’s own director, Meghan
L. O’Hara.
After braving the journey from diagnosis to
wellness, Meghan and David join forces to expose systematic failings in our society, which reinforce the bad habits that predispose us to disease. Together, they lead us on a wild ride of discovery, which reveals crucial hidden scientific evidence, exposes the absurdity of the status quo, and follows a vibrant cast of characters who are changing the game.
Despite decades of drug development and treatment innovations, the rise of cancer is outpacing our ability to fight back. Billions of dollars have been put into the elusive search for “the cure”, but today each of us has a one in two chance of being diagnosed at some point in our life.
Until recently, we thought that cancer was only due to a genetic predisposition, or to an unlucky draw. THE C WORD irrevocably establishes the connection between the current cancer epidemic and our western lifestyle from a scientific, documented and optimistic point of view. The latest research findings clearly show that up to 70% of cancer deaths are linked to our daily behaviors: smoking, a diet of processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, excessive stress, and a continued exposure to daily contaminants. Catalytic in its revelations, THE C WORD is also an indictment of a trillion-dollar processed food industry that thrives while we get sick and relies on an economic model that chooses profit over people, leaving us undernourished and overweight, especially in our underserved communities.
THE C WORD delivers a message of hope. It urges us to stop being afraid and gives us the tools to take immediate action to reclaim our health and improve our outcomes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g4gx_dnLUc
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Observational Doc SCHOOL OF BABEL, Follows Newly Immigrant Teens Entering French Educational System
School of Babel (La Cour de Babel), Julie Bertuccelli’s observational documentary follows a group of newly arrived immigrant teens as they begin their studies at La Grange-aux-Belles secondary school in Paris and prepare for entry into the French educational system.
At the center of this dramatic transition is teacher Brigitte Cervoni, a wise and patient woman charged with guiding a diverse class of 11- to 15-year-olds hailing from countries including Tunisia, Ireland, Senegal, China, Serbia and Brazil. Part psychologist and part surrogate mother, Cervoni helps her students cope with problems ranging from homesickness to emotional trauma while instilling in her students a sense of self-worth and mutual respect. As the teens adjust—and some begin to blossom—the results are illuminating, moving and exhilarating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4yHTfbYaEI
School of Babel is screening as part of the Northwest Film Center’s Global Classroom program, which presents new international cinema for high-school students throughout the Portland, Oregon, metro area.

Grammy-nominated comedian Tig Notaro will host the 2015 IDA Documentary Awards ceremony. Tig Notaro is the subject of Tig, the Netflix Original documentary chronicling her life after it famously fell apart.
The 2015 edition of the
The award winning documentary BARGE directed by Ben Powell have its NY premiere at 2015 DOC NYC, where it will screen in the Viewfinders Section.
BARGE had its World Premiere at SXSW 2015, and went on to win Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary Feature: Dallas International Film Festival 2015, Best Documentary Feature: Crossroads Film Festival 2015 and Honorable Mention, Best Documentary: Ashland Independent Film Festival 2015.
BARGE evocatively depicts the lives of the Mississippi River’s ship workers over twenty-eight day shifts, shuttling cargo back and forth along America’s waterway. Dryland’s misfits, these men from all backgrounds and experience level fastidiously work to achieve their individual dreams while holding together our nation’s industrial backbone. A debut feature from Austin-based Ben Powell, BARGE is an intimate portrait of the machinery of American ambitions.
A towboat drifts down the Mississippi River, on its way to the port of New Orleans. This is a barge whose life is the water, the banks, and the bright lights ahead. On board, dry land’s misfits find purpose and direction as the steady hands who move a few million tons of cargo up and down the river each year. A green deckhand; a former convict working his way up to first mate; an engineer with 38 years of experience, in no hurry to retire; and an ancient waterway pulling a double shift as the backbone of a national economy. As long as the boat is moving, they’re making money. Through the exquisitely observed details of modern river travel, this is a meditation on the importance of a meaningful job and the machinery of American ambitions.
https://vimeo.com/121178742