Cinema Eye Honors Salute Top Docs — And Justin Bieber, Too

Teen pop idol’s concert film is a quirky addition to lineup of critically-acclaimed documentary nominees

"The Arbor," "Senna" and "The Interrupters" are among the top nominees for the fifth annual Cinema Eye Honors, one of the top awards given to nonfiction films.

And Justin Bieber, surprisingly, showed up on the list as well.

In nominations announced on Wednesday in London, those three films shared nominations for the top award, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, with "Position Among the Stars," "Nostalgia for the Light" and "Project Nim."

The Interrupters"The Arbor," "Senna," "Position Among the Stars," "Nostalgia for the Light," "The Interrupters," "Dragonslayer" and "Hell and Back Again" each received four nominations in the 10 categories.

Steve James, the director of "Hoop Dreams" and of this year's contender "The Interrupters," received four individual nominations, the most of any person.

Two 3D documentaries from noted German filmmakers, Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" and Wim Wenders' "Pina," each received nominations in the Outstanding Achievement in Production category. Herzog's film was also nominated for its music score and for the Audience Choice Prize.

One of the most unexpected nominations came in the Audience Choice category, where the concert film "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" will go up against nine other films with more critical heft, including Errol Morris's "Tabloid," Cindy Meehl's "Buck" and Goran Olsson's "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975."

The late combat photographer and documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington ("Restrepo") received a nomination in the short film category for his impressionistic, autobiographical film "Diary."

Over its first four years, the Cinema Eye Honors has twice given its top honor to the film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. James Marsh's "Man on Wire" won in 2009, and Louie Psihoyos' "The Cove" the following year.

Last year's Cinema Eye winner was Banksy's "Exit Through the Gift Shop," which was nominated for an Oscar but did not win.

Nominations for the awards are made by committees of documentary programmers from film festivals around the world.

The Cinema Eye Honors were launched in 2007 by filmmaker and journalist A.J. Schnack and documentary programmer Thom Powers, who wanted to create documentary awards that would honor the entire creative team and all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.

The 2012 ceremony will take place on January 11, 2012 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.

On Thursday, the International Documentary Association will announce its nominees for the IDA Awards.

The Cinema Eye nominees:

Nonfiction Feature:
"The Arbor"
"The Interrupters"
"Position Among the Stars"
"Nostalgia for the Light"
"Project Nim"
"Senna"

Direction:
"The Arbor," Clio Barnard
"Hell and Back Again," Danfung Dennis
"The Interrupters," Steve James
"Nostalgia for the Light," Patricio Guzman
"Position Among the Stars," Leonard Retel Helmrich

Production:
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams"
"Hell and Back Again"
"The Interrupters"
"Nostalgia for the Light"
"Pina"

Cinematography:
"Bombay Beach"
"Dragonslayer"
"Hell and Back Again"
"Nostalgia for the Light"
"Position Among the Stars"

Editing:
"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975"
"Dragonslayer"
"Life in a Day"
"Position Among the Stars"
"Senna"

Graphic Design:
"Better This World"
"Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then"
"Project Nim"
"Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure"
"Tabloid"
"!Women Art Revolution"

Original Music Score:
"The Arbor"
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams"
"Dragonslayer"
"Senna"
"Tabloid"

Debut Feature:
"The Arbor"
"At the Edge of Russia"
"Bombay Beach"
"Dragonslayer"
"Hell and Back Again"

Spotlight Award:
"Family Instinct"
"Last Days Here"
"The Pruitt-Igoe Myth"
"Scenes of a Crime"
"The Tiniest Place"

Audience Choice Award:
"Bill Cunningham New York"
"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975"
"Buck"
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams"
"Give Up Tomorrow"
"The Interrupters"
"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never"
"Project Nim"
"Senna"
"Tabloid"

Nonfiction Short Film:
"Il Capo"
"Diary"
"Minka"
"Out of Reach"
"This Chair Is Not Me"

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