Predictions for 2022 Cinema Eye Honors
The 15th Cinema Eye Honors, which recognize outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking, are set to announce their winners with a ceremony on March 1, 2022, after its delay of the original ceremony on Jan. 13, 2022. The ceremony will celebrate the 36 nominated features, 14 series, and five shorts picked out from hundreds of worthy options. This year’s selection is particularly stacked, with refugee stories competing against rock concerts and cave rescues.
The winners of the Cinema Eye Honors often are a good indicator of what has a good chance of winning at the Academy Awards as well. There are a couple of caveats to that equation, however, as a couple of the nominees for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature were not nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Before we get any further into it though, let’s look at some predictions for winners in the film categories at the 15th Cinema Eye Honors.
Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
Ascension
Directed and Produced by Jessica Kingdon
Produced by Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
Faya Dayi
Directed and Produced by Jessica Beshir
Flee
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Produced by Monica Hellstrӧm, Signe Byrge Sørensen, and Charlotte De La Gournerie
The Rescue
Directed and Produced by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Produced by P.J. van Sandwjik, John Battsek, and Bob Eisenhardt
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Produced by Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, and David Dinerstein
The Velvet Underground
Directed and Produced by Todd Haynes
Produced by Christine Vachon, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, and David Blackman
A still from The Rescue (2021). Courtesy of National Geographic Films
In the big category for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, I have Vasarhelyi and Chin’s The Rescue as the night's big winner. It’s a tough call as The Rescue was one of the most critically and commercially acclaimed documentaries to come out last year but missed out on the Oscar nomination. The Academy historically has shown an unspoken bias against documentaries that recreate events, but within a nonfiction celebration, there is no such stigma. The biggest competition for The Rescue would be Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) or Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee which both were nominated in more categories than The Rescue. Still, I think The Rescue is going to pull this one out.
Outstanding Direction
Ascension
Jessica Kingdon
Faya Dayi
Jessica Beshir
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen
In the Same Breath
Nanfu Wang
Procession
Robert Greene
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
A still from Flee. Courtesy of Neon
The Rescue was not nominated here so that leaves the door open for other films to come in. Jonas Poher Rasmussen does a fantastic job elevating the refugee story of Amin beyond others of the same type. The mix of animation and raw, personal conversations is deftly balanced in a way that really highlights Rasmussen’s skills as a director. This is probably a two-horse race between Rasmussen and Thompson, but I think Rasmussen pulls it off.
Outstanding Editing
Homeroom
Kristina Mohwani and Rebecca Adorno
The Rescue
Bob Eisenhardt
Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain
Eileen Meyer and Aaron Wickenden
Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Joshua Pearson
The Velvet Underground
Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz
A still from Summer of Soul. Courtesy of Serarchlight Pictures
This one should be a shoo-in for Joshua Pearson and Summer of Soul. From the immaculate pacing to the Herculean effort of just making all the footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival make sense, Summer of Soul has a lot of things going for it. The other musical documentary Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground may put up a good fight with its impressively managed chronology and talking heads, but it’s no match for Summer of Soul.
Outstanding Production
The First Wave
Matthew Heineman, Jenna Millman, and Leslie Norville
Flee
Monica Hellstrӧm,Signe Byrge Sørensen, and Charlotte De La Gournerie
In the Same Breath
Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, and Carolyn Hepburm
President
Signe Byrge Sorensen and Joslyn Barnes
The Rescue
E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, P.J. van Sandwijk, John Battsek, and Bob Eisenhardt
A still from The Rescue (2021). Courtesy of National Geographic Films
With the Cinema Eye Honors being much more willing than the Academy to recognize reenactments, it stands to reason that the risk that paid off for the reenactments in The Rescue gets recognized the most for its production. Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin had a difficult decision when they decided to make a documentary about the 2018 Thai cave rescue of a boys soccer team. With no footage of the actual rescue, they turned to reenactments. Originally planning to supervise the reenactments, the group of divers pulled off the rescue were actually more keen on starring in them. The bold decision combined with the successfully intense execution should get The Rescue recognized.
Outstanding Cinematography
All Light, Everywhere
Corey Hughes
Ascension
Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell
Cusp
Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill
Faya Dayi
Jessica Beshir
The Rescue
David Katznelson, Picha Srisansanee and Ian Seabrook
A still from Faya Dayi. Courtesy of Janus Films
In recent years, black and white films have seen a resurgence in the number of films each year that opt to forgo color. Oftentimes, those films get recognized for their cinematography. Faya Dayi is an example of this where the cinematography deserves the award much more than just because it is in black and white. Faya Dayi is such an immersive experience as the journeys through the highlands of Harar. All Light, Everywhere variety of cameras allow for really approach to the film’s camerawork to be very engaging, but expect Faya Dayi to pull this one out.
Outstanding Original Score
All Light, Everywhere
Dan Deacon
Ascension
Dan Deacon
Flee
Uno Helmersson
Julia
Rachel Portman
malni – towards the ocean, towards the shore
Thad Kellstadt
Procession
Keegan DeWitt and Dabney Morris
A still from All Light Everywhere. Courtesy of Super LTD.
Dan Deacon was previously nominated at the Cinema Eye Honors for his work on Theo Anthony’s Rat Film. Here he returns as a double nominee as well as the predicted winner. Teaming again with Anthony for All Light, Everywhere, Deacon crafts a hypnotic score to complement Anthony's dive into surveillance. Uno Helmersson does fantastic work for Flee, but it is Deacon for the win.
Outstanding Sound Design
All Light, Everywhere
Udit Duseja
Faya Dayi
Tom Efinger and Abigail Savage
Flee
Edward Björner and Tormod Ringnes
Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Emily Strong, Paul Hsu, Rob Fernandez, and Paul Massey
The Velvet Underground
Leslie Shatz and Jahn Sood
A still from Summer of Soul. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
A new category at this year's Cinema Eye Honors, and again, this is Summer of Soul’s award to run away with. Along with the film editing, the sound design for a festival film is just as important. Summer of Soul manages to not be overwhelming in its party atmosphere but ensures that the viewer is still taking a full part in the festival celebration.
Outstanding Graphic Design/Animation
Becoming Cousteau
Matthew Brunson-Cline and Daniel Rutledge
Flee
Kenneth Ladekjær
Rebel Hearts
Una Lorenzen and Emma Berliner
The Sparks Brothers
Joseph Wallace and Greg McLeod
Wojnarowicz: F*ck You F*ggot F*cker
Grant Nellessen and Andrew Rose
A still from Flee. Courtesy of Neon
It’s always compelling when a documentary employs animation to tell its story or depict its subject. No other film this year utilized animation quite as effectively as Kenneth Ladekjær for Flee. The animation brings Amin’s memories to life in a way that is heartbreaking and always lifelike. For a film with the most nominations in different categories, it should come as no surprise that the artistic choice that makes the film distinctive amongst its peers is going to win the category that focuses on just that.
Outstanding Debut
Ascension
Directed by Jessica Kingdon
A Cop Movie
Directed by Alfonso Ruizpalacios
Faya Dayi
Directed by Jessica Beshir
Jacinta
Directed by Jessica Earnshaw
Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
A still from Summer of Soul. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
This could possibly be a case where the Cinema Eye Honors decide to “spread the wealth” and recognize other great documentaries this year like Ascension and A Cop Movie, but with its six nominations, Summer of Soul left a large impression as Thompson’s debut feature. The other films may be just as worthy, but Summer of Soul is just undeniable as the frontrunner for this category.
Outstanding Nonfiction Short
Águilas
Directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre
A Broken House
Directed by Jimmy Goldblum
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma
Directed by Topaz Jones and rubberband
Terror Contagion
Directed by Laura Poitras
Three Songs for Benazir
Directed by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
A still from Three Songs for Benazir. Courtesy of Netflix
This is really anyone’s race but Three Songs for Benazir stands out as the only film to also be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. When We Were Bullies is currently playing in select theaters and getting more eyes watching that film could give it the boost it needs to win, but I don’t expect it to be enough to catch Three Songs for Benazir.
Audience Choice Prize
Becoming Cousteau
Directed by Liz Garbus
Billie Eilish – The World’s a Little Blurry
Directed by R.J. Cutler
Flee
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Homeroom
Directed by Peter Nicks
Julia
Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West
Lily Topples the World
Directed by Jeremy Workman
Listening to Kenny G
Directed by Penny Lane
The Rescue
Directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain
Directed by Morgan Neville
The Sparks Brothers
Directed by Edgar Wright
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Try Harder!
Directed by Debbie Lum
The Velvet Underground
Directed by Todd Haynes
Writing With Fire
Directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
A still from The Rescue. Courtesy of National Geographic Films
Vasarhelyi and Chin have already won this category twice in the past for their films Meru and Free Solo, and it is likely that they are going to win it again for The Rescue. The only other previous winner in the category is R.J. Cutler and his work on Billie Eilish – The World’s a Little Blurry. The toughest fight will most likely be put up by Morgan Neville and his documentary, Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain. Neville’s previous nominations in the category include 20 Feet From Stardom, The Best of Enemies, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor.
Spotlight
Fruits of Labor
Directed by Emily Cohen Ibañez
The Neutral Ground
Directed by CJ Hunt
North by Current
Directed by Angelo Madsen Minax
Socks on Fire
Directed by Bo McGuire
Two Gods
Directed by Zeshawn Ali
A still from Fruits of Labor. Courtesy of POV
The Spotlight Award at the Cinema Eye Honors was designed to put attention on a film that deserves wider exposure. On paper, all of these films deserve a wider audience, but the one winner will have to be Emily Cohen Ibañez’s Fruits of Labor. The film follows a Mexican-American teenager as she finds herself becoming the breadwinner for her family. This coming-of-age story deftly tackles several prevalent subjects today like adolescence, and a woman of color’s place in America.
Heterodox
Bo Burnham: Inside
Directed by Bo Burnham
A Cop Movie
Directed by Alfonso Ruizpalacios
The Inheritance
Directed by Ephraim Asili
El Planeta
Directed by Amalia Ulman
The Souvenir Part II
Directed by Joanna Hogg
A still from Bo Burnham: Inside. Courtesy of Netflix
Joanna Hogg won this award for the first part of The Souvenir, but don’t expect her to repeat. Bo Burnham managed to perfectly distill every anxiety that sprung up during quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic into a joke or catchy song. Impressive staged and enthralling to watch Hogg would likely win this award again if not for this comedy special that perfectly captures a moment in history.
The Unforgettables (Non-Competitive Honor)
Flee
Amin
Homeroom
Denilson Garibo
Introducing, Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Jacinta
Jacinta Hunt
Lily Topples the World
Lily Hevesh
Listening to Kenny G
Kenny G
Mr. Bachmann and His Class
Mr. Bachmann
My Name is Pauli Murray
Pauli Murray
Not Going Quietly
Ady Barkan
Procession
Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Ed Gavagan, Dan Laurine, Michael Sandridge & Tom Viviano
The Rescue
Rick Stanton
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
Rita Moreno
Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
The Sparks Brothers
Ron Mael and Russell Mael
Writing With Fire
Meera Nevi
The following nominations were previously announced on November 10, 2021.