Nonfiction filmmaking
tends to be the one bright spot for women in Hollywood, with female documentary
directors nearing parity with their male counterparts. The nominations for
Cinema Eye’s 7th Annual Nonfiction Film Awards confirm and celebrate
that reality: for the first time in the award’s history, all five of the
features competing for the “Best Documentary” prize were either directed or
produced by a woman. Two of the films, Martha Shane and Lana Wilson’s After Tiller and Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, were helmed by a female
director or directing team. A third, Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Véréna
Paravel’s Leviathan, was co-directed
by a woman.
Producers Signe Byrge
Sørensen and Lydia Dean Pilcher worked behind the scenes of the other two
nominated documentaries, The Act of
Killing and Cutie and the Boxer,
respectively.
Of the 11 directors
and producers behind the “Best Documentary” films, seven are women. Female
directors also comprised the majority of the “Best Director” nominations, as
well as Cinema Eye’s inaugural award for
Nonfiction Films Made for Television.
The Cinema Eye Honors were founded in 2007 to
recognize excellence in artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking. Winners of the 7th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will
be announced at a ceremony in early January 2014 in New York City.
Scroll down for the
full list of the women nominated for the Cinema Eye Awards:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature
Filmmaking
The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen
After Tiller
Directed by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
Produced by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
Cutie and the Boxer
Directed by Zachary Heinzerling
Produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, Mark Steele
Leviathan
Directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena
Paravel
Produced by Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena
Paravel
Stories We Tell
Directed by Sarah Polley
Produced by Anita Lee
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
After Tiller — Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
Leviathan — Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear — Tinatin Gurchiani
Stories We Tell — Sarah Polley
Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Leviathan — Lucien
Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel
Outstanding Achievement in Production
The Act of Killing — Signe Byrge Sorensen
After Tiller — Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
Dirty Wars — Anthony
Arnove, Brenda Coughlin and Jeremy Scahill
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Elena — Janice D’avila, Will
Etchebehere and Miguel Vassy
Leviathan — Lucien
Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made
for Television
The Crash Reel
Directed by Lucy Walker
Produced by Julian Cautherley and Lucy Walker
Gideon’s Army
Directed by Dawn Porter
Produced by Dawn Porter and Julie Goldman
Homegoings
Directed by Christine Turner
Produced by Christine Turner
Inventing David Geffen
Directed by Susan Lacy
Produced by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Directed by Alex Gibney
Produced by Alex Gibney, Alexandra Johnes, Jedd
Wider, Todd Wider and Kristen Vaurio
Audience Choice Prize
Blackfish — Gabriela Cowperthwaite
The Crash Reel — Lucy
Walker
Rafea: Solar Mama — Mona Eldaief & Jehane Noujaim
The Square — Jehane
Noujaim
Stories We Tell — Sarah Polley
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
After Tiller — Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear — Tinatin Gurchiani
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or
Animation
Maidentrip — Margot
Tsakiri-Scanatovits & Daniel Chester
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks — Maryanne Butler & Marc Smith
Spotlight Award
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction — Sophie Huber
The Last Station — Cristian Soto and Catalina Vergara
Valentine Road — Marta
Cunningham
