5 Broken Cameras Wins Best Doc at 2013 Cinema Eye Honors

Sorry Oscars. But after the Indie Spirit Awards, the number two spot in terms of Award Season importance are the Cinema Eye Honors. Seems like it was only yesterday when AJ Schnack & Thom Powers teamed up for one basic, logical concept: an event that would reward yearly output of documentary film in a rightfully sound manner. With the wind in their sails, the 6th annual edition was held last night and deservingly so, adding to its double wins at the IDFA and Sundance, it is 5 Broken Cameras that took the top honors for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking. Co-directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi – political activism via you guessed it, five video cameras. The film was released via Kino Lorber.

The night’s only double winner, could be regarded as the silver medal doc film of the year: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Detropia grabbed the Outstanding Achievement in Direction and Original Music Score. Outstanding Achievement in Production went The Imposter – a film that was up there quality-wise with Man on Wire and Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography was a two-film race from the start, Jeffrey Orlowski’s Chasing Ice beat out Samsara. Legacy Award was awarded to Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker for The War Room. Wish we could have been there. Here is the complete list of noms and winners in bold.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
5 Broken Cameras Directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Detropia Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
The Imposter Directed by Bart Layton
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present Directed by Matthew Akers
Only the Young Directed by Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims
Searching for Sugar Man Directed by Malik Bendjelloul

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Detropia Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
The Law in These Parts Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
Only the Young Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims
Planet of Snail Seungjun Yi
Tchoupitoulas Bill Ross and Turner Ross
¡Vivan las Antipodas! Victor Kossakovsky

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Alison Klayman and Adam Schlesinger
Big Boys Gone Bananas!* Margarete Jangård
The Imposter Dimitri Doganis
Searching for Sugar Man Simon Chinn
¡Vivan las Antipodas! Heino Deckert

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Chasing Ice Jeffrey Orlowski
The Imposter Erik Alexander Wilson and Lynda Hall
Only the Young Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims
Samsara Ron Fricke
¡Vivan las Antipodas! Victor Kossakovsky

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
5 Broken Cameras Véronique Lagoarde-Ségot and Guy Davidi Detropia Enat Sidi
How to Survive a Plague T. Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk, Jonathan Oppenheim
Room 237 Rodney Ascher
Tchoupitoulas Bill Ross

Audience Choice Prize
5 Broken Cameras Directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
Beauty is Embarrassing Directed by Neil Berkeley
Bully Directed by Lee Hirsch
How to Survive a Plague Directed by David France
The Imposter Directed by Bart Layton
Jiro Dreams of Sushi Directed by David Gelb
Kumaré Directed by Vikram Gandhi
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present Directed by Matthew Akers
Searching for Sugar Man Directed by Malik Bendjelloul
Trash Dance Directed by Andrew Garrison

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Directed by Alison Klayman
How to Survive a Plague Directed by David France
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present Directed by Matthew Akers
Only the Young Directed by Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims
Room 237 Directed by Rodney Ascher
Searching for Sugar Man Directed by Malik Bendjelloul
The Waiting Room Directed by Peter Nicks

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Detropia Dial.81
The Imposter Anna Nikitin
Into the Abyss Mark De Gli Antoni
Room 237 Jonathan Snipes, William Hutson, The Caretaker (James Kirby)
¡Vivan las Antipodas! Alexander Popov

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Beauty is Embarrassing Neil Berkeley, Anthony Maiuri
Herman’s House Nicolas Brault, Tom Hillman
Indie Game: The Movie James Swirsky
Room 237 Carlos Ramos
Searching for Sugar Man Oskar Gullstrand, Arvid Steen
Urbanized Brooklyn Digital Foundry/John Szot

Spotlight Award
Argentinian Lesson Directed by Wojciech Staroń
Bestiaire Directed by Denis Côté
Downeast Directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin
Meanwhile in Mamelodi Directed by Benjamin Kahlmeyer
Vol Special (Special Flight) Directed by Fernand Melgar

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
Cutting Loose Directed by Finlay Pretsell and Adrian McDowall
Family Nightmare Directed by Dustin Guy Defa
Good Bye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima) Directed by Robert-Jan Lacombe
Into the Middle of Nowhere Directed by Anna Francis Ewert
Paradise (Paraíso) Directed by Nadav Kurtz

Heterodox Award
Ceasar Must Die – Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty – Terence Nance
Compliance – Craig Zobel
Museum Hours – Jem Cohen
No – Pablo Larraín