'OJ: Made in America' and 'I Am Not Your Negro' Top Cinema Eye Honors Documentary Nominations

“Fire at Sea,” “Cameraperson,” “Weiner,” “I Am Not Your Negro” and “O.J.: Made in America” have been nominated as the best documentaries of 2016 by Cinema Eye Honors, the New York-based organization devoted to nonfiction filmmaking.

Cinema Eye announced its 10th annual nominees on Wednesday evening at the Alamo Drafthouse in New York City. Its awards ceremony will be held on Jan. 11 at the Museum of the Moving image in Astoria, Queens.

The nominations in the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking category marked an unprecedented overlap with the Los Angeles-based IDA Documentary Awards, which announced its nominees on Tuesday and is the other major award for nonfiction filmmaking. All five films were nominated by both groups; a sixth IDA nominee, Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” was not eligible for the Cinema Eye Honors.

Also Read: IDA Awards Nominations: Race Conflict Documentaries Dominate

With the deadline approaching for first-round voting in the Oscar documentary race, that makes “Cameraperson,” “Fire at Sea,” “I Am Not Your Negro,” “O.J.: Made in America” and “Weiner” rare consensus picks for the best nonfiction films of the year, and puts them in a strong position to make the Oscar’s 15-film shortlist.

Two films that focus on race in America, Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” and Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America,” led all works with five nominations each. Kristen Johnson’s personal essay “Cameraperson” and Gianfranco Rosi’s cinema verite look at Europe’s migrant crisis “Fire at Sea” received four nominations.

Rosi landed four individual nominations for directing, producing and shooting “Fire at Sea,” while Edelman, Johnson, Peck and HBO Documentary Films chief Sheila Nevins received three each. Nevins is now the most nominated person in Cinema Eye history with 11, a distinction she also holds at the Emmys.

Director/producer Alex Gibney also set a Cinema Eye mark with “Zero Days,” the record sixth film he’s directed to be nominated by the organization.

Also Read: 'Zero Days' Review: Alex Gibney Hacks Into the Legendary Stuxnet Virus

Several other strong Oscar contenders showed up in the 10 Audience Choice Prize nominees, which included “I Am Not Your Negro” and “Weiner,” but also went for “Gleason,” “Life, Animated,” “Sonita,” “Ticked,” “Tower,” “Mr. Gaga” and the music docs “Miss Sharon Jones!” and “Presenting Princess Shaw.”

Because of Cinema Eye eligibility rules specifying that films must play a certain number of top festivals or make $20,000 at the North American theatrical box office, several high-profile but late-breaking Netflix films, including “13th,” “The Ivory Game” and “Amanda Knox,” were not eligible to be nominated.

The Cinema Eye Honors were established in 2007 to honor all facets of nonfiction filmmaking. Nominees are determined by several nominating committees made up largely of programmers from film festivals that showcase nonfiction work.

Over the first decade of the awards’ existence, Cinema Eye Honors nominations have not typically overlapped strongly with the Oscars documentary nominations. While three of last year’s Best Feature nominees went on to receive Oscar nods, only nine of the 28 Cinema Eye nominees over the last five years did so.

Also Read: 'The Eagle Huntress' Is an 'Antidote' to Trump Locker Room Talk, Director Says (Video)

Since the first Cinema Eye ceremony in 2008, the only films to win the top awards from Cinema Eye and the Academy are “Man on Wire,” “The Cove” and “Citizenfour.”

Director Steve James (“Hoop Dreams,” “Life Itself”) will host the Cinema Eye Honors ceremony on Jan. 11.

The nominees:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

“Cameraperson”
Directed by Kirsten Johnson | Produced by Kirsten Johnson and Marilyn Ness

“Fire at Sea”
Directed by Gianfranco Rosi | Produced by Donatello Palermo, Gianfranco Rosi, Serge Lalou and Camille Laemlé

“I Am Not Your Negro”
Directed by Raoul Peck| Produced by Rémi Grellety, Raoul Peck and Hébert Peck

“OJ: Made in America”
Directed by Ezra Edelman | Produced by Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow

“Weiner”
Directed and Produced by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

Also Read: 'Fire at Sea' - Migrant Documentary Is Week's Most Powerful Film

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Gianfranco Rosi, “Fire at Sea”
Raoul Peck, “I Am Not Your Negro”
Robert Greene, “Kate Plays Christine”
Ezra Edelman, “OJ: Made in America”

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Nels Bangerter, “Cameraperson”
Clay Tweel, “Gleason”
Alexandra Strauss, “I Am Not Your Negro”
Bret Granato, Maya Mumma and Ben Sozanski , “OJ: Made in America”
Eli Despres, “Weiner”

Also Read: 'Weiner' Documentary Lands Just in Time for October Surprise - Here's Our Review

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Stacey Reiss, Sharon Chang and Otto Bell, “The Eagle Huntress”
Donatello Palermo, Gianfranco Rosi, Serge Lalou and Camille Laemmlé, “Fire at Sea”
Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow, “OJ: Made in America”
Carthew Neal, “Tickled”
Marc Shmuger and Alex Gibney, “Zero Days”

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Michal Marczak and Maciej Twardowski, “All These Sleepless Nights”
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Jarred Alterman, “Contemporary Color”
Simon Niblett, “The Eagle Huntress”
Gianfranco Rosi, “Fire at Sea”

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Films Made for Television

“Happy Valley”
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev, Produced by Jonathan Koch, Steve Michaels, John Battsek and Ken Dornstein
For A&E IndieFilms: Molly Thompson, Robert DeBitetto and David McKillop

“Heroin: Cape Cod, USA”
Directed and Produced by Steven Okazaki
For HBO Documentary Films: Sara Bernstein and Sheila Nevins

“How to Dance in Ohio”
Directed by Alexandra Shiva, Produced by Alexandra Shiva and Bari Pulman
For HBO Documentary Films: Nancy Abraham and Sheila Nevins

“Making a Murderer”
Directed and Produced by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos
For Netflix: Lisa Nishimura and Adam Del Deo

“Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures”
Directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Produced by Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Mona Card
For HBO Documentary Films: Sara Bernstein and Sheila Nevins

“My Beautiful Broken Brain”
Directed by Sophie Robinson and Lotje Sodderlan, Produced by Sophie Robinson
For Netflix: Lisa Nishimura and Adam Del Deo

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': 23 Updates Since the Series' Debut (Photos)

Audience Choice Prize
“Gleason,” directed by Clay Tweel
“I Am Not Your Negro,” directed by Raoul Peck
“Life, Animated,” directed by Roger Ross Williams
“Miss Sharon Jones!” directed by Barbara Kopple
“Mr. Gaga,” directed by Tomer Heymann
“Presenting Princess Shaw,” directed by Ido Haar
“Sonita,” directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
“Tickled,” directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve
“Tower,” directed by Keith Maitland
“Weiner,” directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
Craig Atkinson, “Do Not Resist”
Otto Bell, “The Eagle Huntress”
Jessica Edwards, “Mavis!”
Nanfu Wang, “Hooligan Sparrow”
David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, “Tickled”
Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel, “When Two Worlds Collide”

Also Read: 'Tickled' Review: Documentarians Track Secretive Online Fetishists

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Lubomir Grzelak, “All These Sleepless Nights”
Nominees to be Determined, “Contemporary Color”
Alexei Aigui, “I Am Not Your Negro”
Alex Lu, “In the Pursuit of Silence”
Gary Lionelli, “OJ: Made in America”

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation
Chris Kirk and Syd Garon, “Author: The JT Leroy Story”
Philippe Sonrier and Suzie Cimato, “Life, Animated”
Nominees to be Determined, “Nuts!”
Craig Staggs and Keith Maitland, “Tower”
Nominees to be Determined, “Zero Days”

Spotlight Award
“All this Panic,” directed by Jenny Gage
“Among the Believers,” directed by Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi
“Dead Slow Ahead,” directed by Mauro Herce
“The Land of the Enlightened,” directed by Pieter-Jan De Pue
“The Pearl,” directed by Jessica Dimmock and Christopher LaMarca
“Les Sauteurs” (“Those Who Jump”), directed by Estephan Wagner and Moritz Siebert

Also Read: ShortList 2016: 'Bacon and God's Wrath' Says It's Never Too Late to Turn Atheist (Video)

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
“Bacon and God’s Wrath,” directed by Sol Friedman
“Extremis,” directed by Dan Krauss
“La Laguna,” directed by Aaron Schock
“My Aleppo,” directed by Melissa Langer
“Peace in the Valley,” directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher

The Unforgettables
The year’s most notable and significant nonfiction film subjects (previously announced)

Michal Huszcza, “All These Sleepless Nights”
Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman, “Audrie and Daisy”
Laura Albert, “Author: The JT Leroy Story”
Kirsten Johnson, “Cameraperson”
Aisholpan Nurgaiv, “The Eagle Huntress”
Samuela Pucillo, “Fire at Sea”
Steve Gleason and Michel Varisco, “Gleason”
Ye Haiyan, “Hooligan Sparrow”
Kate Sheil, “Kate Plays Christine”
Owen Suskind, “Life, Animated”
Sharon Jones, “Miss Sharon Jones!”
Peter Dunning, “Peter and the Farm”
Princess Shaw, “Presenting Princess Shaw”
Sonita Alidazeh, “Sonita”
Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner, “Weiner”

'OJ: Made In America,' and the 30 Other Game-Changing '30 for 30' Films (Photos)

The five-part "O.J.: Made In America" marks a watershed moment for "30 for 30," the ESPN documentary series that has proven to be one of the best concepts the network has ever come up with. Co-created by Connor Schell and Bill Simmons in 2009 to chronicle 30 stories from the "ESPN era" beginning with the network's founding in 1979, the series has elevated filmmakers, creating unforgettable works that have received awards, critical acclaim and festival selections many times over.

Also Read: ESPN’s ‘OJ: Made in America’ Documentary: 7 Things You Need to Know
ESPN
30. "Trojan War"
Pete Carroll turned the USC Trojans into the first college football powerhouse of the 21st century before leaving for the Seattle Seahawks amidst NCAA sanctions. USC alum Aaron Rahsaan Thomas looks at the beginning of the Trojans' steady decline: The Team's loss in the 2006 national championship game against Texas.
ESPN
29. "The Price of Gold"
The Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal was one of the most disgraceful in women's sports. It was also insanely profitable for figure skating. Director Nanette Burstein takes a look at the incident 20 years later and what it meant for both the sport and Harding's turbulent life.
ESPN
28. "Youngstown Boys"
The rise and fall of college dynasties and the corrupt side of school sports has been a regular topic on "30 For 30." The film takes a look at the scandals that surrounded Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and fallen star Maurice Clarrett, the latter of whom ended up in prison.
ESPN
27. "The 16th Man"
This documentary about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa shortly after the end of Apartheid, featured Morgan Freeman -- who played Nelson Mandela in the biopic, "Invictus," -- is the narrator.
ESPN
26. "The Birth of Big Air"
What if I told you the guys who made "Jackass" contributed to this series? After earning fame by filming guys doing stupid things, Jeff Tremaine directed this documentary about the life of Mat Hoffman, the greatest BMX rider of all time. Hoffman's interviews reveal the drive that not only defines his life, but the core philosophy of action sports as well.
ESPN
25. "Winning Time"
This film is one of the lighter pieces in the "30 For 30" lineup, but also one of the best executed. It focuses on the playoff duels between the Pacers and Knicks in the mid-90s, a series that made Reggie Miller one of the top NBA players not named Michael Jordan, especially when taunting Knicks fanatic, Spike Lee.

Also Read: Spike Lee Honors Prince With Purple People Party in Brooklyn
ESPN
24. Straight Outta L.A.
In the 80s, Al Davis took his ball and left Oakland, bringing his Raiders to Los Angeles. In the 13 seasons they played there, the Silver and Black captivated their temporary home, as well as this documentary's director, Ice Cube. "Straight Outta L.A." shows how L.A. and the Raiders were a perfect fit for each other, and how they inspired the imagery and philosophy of N.W.A.

Also Read: ‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’ Review: Ice Cube Comedy Layers Workplace Sitcom with Social Advocacy
ESPN
23. "Playing for the Mob"
Jim Sweeney was a Rhodes Scholar and a Naismith Award-winning superstar at Boston College. So why did he take money as part of a points-shaving scheme? "Playing For The Mob," directed Joe Lavine and Cayman Grant, is another great corrupt college sports tale.

Also Read: ESPN’s ’30 for 30’ Marks 5th Anniversary with Ray Liotta Voicing College Basketball Mob Documentary (Video)
ESPN
22. "Jordan Rides The Bus"
At the peak of his athletic and cultural dominance, Michael Jordan stunned everyone by leaving basketball to give minor league baseball a try. "Bull Durham" director Ron Shelton, himself a former minor league player, goes inside the motives that led one sport's greatest ever to enter a sport where he was outmatched by so many.
ESPN
21. "Bad Boys"
The '89-90 Detroit Pistons are one of the forgotten great teams in NBA history, which is weird because in their time they were hated. "Bad Boys" looks at Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and the rest of the players that made up one of the grittiest, most physical teams in basketball history.
ESPN
20. "Of Miracles And Men"
What's it like to be on the losing end of a miracle? "Of Miracles and Men" looks at the Soviets who lost the "Miracle on Ice" and goes beyond that upset to show what it was like to be a hockey player blocked from playing in the NHL by the Iron Curtain.
ESPN
19. "Fernando Nation"
In 1959, the Latino residents of L.A.'s Chavez Ravine were forcibly evicted so their homes could make way for the construction of Dodger Stadium. Two decades later, a chubby 19-year-old from Sonora, Mexico, named Fernando Valenzuela became the biggest star not just on the Dodgers, but all of baseball.

Also Read: Vin Scully Graces Sports Illustrated Cover, Says He’s ‘Uncomfortable’ With Tributes
ESPN
18. "Four Days In October"
The 2004 American League Championship Series was the kind of sports moment "30 for 30" was made for. The Yankees were three outs away from once again killing the dreams of their rivals and sports' most famous losers, the Red Sox. Instead, the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 series deficit, and "Four Days In October" shows how the infamous Curse of the Bambino was broken in the most unlikely of circumstances.

ESPN
17. "Slaying the Badger"
The 1986 Tour de France is widely considered to be the greatest story in cycling history. American Greg LeMond had helped his teammate Bernard Hinault win the previous year, and Hinault had pledged to return the favor. What unfolded that year en route to LeMond becoming the first American to win the Tour showed how cycling is a constant struggle between rivalry and friendship; individual and team.
ESPN
16. "Requiem For The Big East"
"O.J. Simpson: Made In America" isn't the first documentary Ezra Edelman has made for ESPN. "Requiem for the Big East" was a dive into one of his favorite things in sports: Big East college basketball. He ties in the conference's rise with that of ESPN and shows how the two forces combined to change college basketball into the form we know today.
ESPN
15. "The Announcement"
Magic Johnson has become such an esteemed elder statesman in basketball and in Los Angeles that it's easy to forget the trials he faced when he revealed he had HIV. "The Announcement" restores weight to his famous confession and explores what Magic faced shortly after his sudden retirement.

Also Read: Magic Johnson Pledges Support to Charlie Sheen in HIV Battle: ‘I Hope He Joins Me in Educating the World’
ESPN
14. "Kings Ransom"
August 9, 1988, was a red letter day for hockey and a day that has lived in infamy for Canada. Wayne Gretzky, national hero, was being traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. "Kings Ransom" explores the intense backlash the move received north of the border and the transformative impact it had on the NHL, as Gretzky helped expand the sport's appeal into new territory as he led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
ESPN
13. "I Hate Christian Laettner"
This is one of the funniest "30 for 30" to date. Christian Laettner was one of the most dominant college hoops players of his time, and like the university he played for, everyone loved to hate him. Rory Karpf talks with Laettner in a film that explores how an athlete can inspire such passionate hatred for reasons both valid and ludicrous.

Also Read: Duke Basketball Legend Christian Laettner on Being So Hated That ESPN Made a ’30 for 30’ Film About It
ESPN
12. "You Don't Know Bo"
Bo Jackson never won a championship, but he did something even better: he became a mythical figure. With the help of some creative animated pieces, Michael Bonfiglio delves through fact and fiction to explore the incredible legend Bo built around himself -- and what he left behind.
ESPN
11. "Pony Excess"
Thaddeus Matula was the son of an SMU professor and a rabid fan of the school's football team, the Mustangs. He was eight when the Mustangs faced the unthinkable: the NCAA was shutting down their program for two years, bringing an end to their dominance. "Pony Excess" is Matula's retelling of that scandal, digging into the football team's dealings with oil tycoons and corrupt politicians in a city and decade that was consumed by greed.
ESPN
10. "Broke"
A sobering documentary that proves the adage "mo' money, mo' problems" is more true than you might believe. Billy Corben interviews retired athletes who lost all their wealth from their pro career through poor investments, bad friends, and of course, the temptation of materialism.
ESPN
9. "Fantastic Lies"
Marina Zenovich, director of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," created this scathing piece on the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case, exposing how the public's outrage at injustice can sometimes become overzealous and catch innocent people in the crossfire.
ESPN
8. "Muhammad and Larry"
In 1980, Muhammad Ali wanted one more title match against Larry Holmes. The fight proved what everyone but Ali already knew: The Greatest was past his prime. Using archival footage of the fight he shot himself, director Albert Maysles shows the humanity of both fighters, including the dark side of Ali that fueled his competitiveness, and the reluctance of Holmes to put down his friend and idol for good.
ESPN
7. "Catching Hell"
Every Cubs fan wonders what might have happened if Steve Bartman had let Moises Alou catch that foul ball in 2003. Director Alex Gibney lifts the curtain on what happened to Bartman after that infamous catch and questions why sports fans so often dwell on singular moments of bad luck.

Also Read: HBO to Develop Alex Gibney’s Death Row Drama Starring Laura Dern
ESPN
6. "The Best That Never Was"
Marcus Dupree was the greatest high school football recruit of his generation and the pride of his hometown of Philadelphia. He then went to Oklahoma and quickly fizzled out. Director Jonathan Hock tracked down Dupree to find out what went wrong and how Dupree was able to come to peace with the direction his life ended up taking.
ESPN
5. "Four Falls of Buffalo"
It hurts to watch your team lose a title. To have that happen four straight years is almost unimaginable. Yet that's what Buffalo Bills fans experienced as their team lost four consecutive Super Bowls. But instead of just lamenting their defeats, "Four Falls of Buffalo" becomes a love letter to the city the Bills call home, as well as a call to really consider just what the Bills managed to achieve.
ESPN
4. "The U"
In the 80s, a pair of cultural phenomena changed Miami forever: "Miami Vice" and The U. This documentary follows the latter, showing how the Canes' dominance brought South Florida's most well-known university unprecedented fame and party school cred before it hit a brutal decline.
ESPN
3. "June 17, 1994"
Everyone remembers where they were when O.J. Simpson drove that white Bronco, but do you remember what else happened that day? From Stanley Cup parades and World Cup matches to the MLB lockout, director Brett Morgen explores a day in sports history unlike any other in one of the first prominent "30 For 30" installments.

Also Read: OJ Fact Check: Two White Broncos?
ESPN
2. "Hillsborough"
"Hillsborough" covers the human crush at an FA Cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989 that killed 96 people. Police blamed fans for the incident, but a new inquest exonerated them and delivered a verdict of unlawful killing earlier this year.
ESPN
1. "The Two Escobars"
This is not only the greatest "30 for 30;" it is also one of the greatest documentaries in recent memory. Andres Escobar was a hero to the people of Colombia, yet the national team he played for was bankrolled with by the infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. "The Two Escobars" is one of the finest examples of how sports can become more than a game. Sometimes, it can all too literally become a matter of life and death.
ESPN

1 of 31

From “The U” to “The Two Escobars,” we count down the 30 greatest documentaries that ESPN’s critically-acclaimed series has gifted us

The five-part "O.J.: Made In America" marks a watershed moment for "30 for 30," the ESPN documentary series that has proven to be one of the best concepts the network has ever come up with. Co-created by Connor Schell and Bill Simmons in 2009 to chronicle 30 stories from the "ESPN era" beginning with the network's founding in 1979, the series has elevated filmmakers, creating unforgettable works that have received awards, critical acclaim and festival selections many times over.

Also Read: ESPN’s ‘OJ: Made in America’ Documentary: 7 Things You Need to Know

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