“Sugarcane” Leads Cinema Eye Honors Nominations with Six Nods
Cinema Eye Honors has announced the nominees for its 18th annual awards, celebrating exceptional achievement in nonfiction filmmaking. Held in Los Angeles, USA, the announcement highlighted films and creators that have defined the past year in documentary and nonfiction storytelling.
Leading the nominations with six nods is Sugarcane, directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. The film investigates abuse and forced separations within a Canadian Indigenous community. It is a contender in the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Direction categories, alongside recognition for its production, cinematography, sound design, and score.
Close behind with five nominations each are Mati Diop’s Dahomey and the collaborative No Other Land by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. Both films are also up for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Direction, affirming their critical acclaim.
Other nominees for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature include Black Box Diaries, Daughters, Look Into My Eyes, and Soundtrack to a Coup d’État. Directors Gary Hustwit (Eno), Elizabeth Lo (Mistress Dispeller), and Stephen Maing and Brett Story (Union) round out the category for Outstanding Direction.
This year’s awards mark a shift towards inclusive recognition of entire creative teams in the Nonfiction Feature category, acknowledging directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, composers, sound designers, and other collaborators. In total, 48 of the 56 individual nominees in this category are first-time contenders.
The Cinema Eye Honors Production category includes notable alumni, such as Paula DuPre’ Pesman (Porcelain War), a previous winner for The Cove, and Shane Boris and Odessa Rae (Hollywoodgate), who triumphed in 2023.
In addition to individual achievements, the Audience Choice Prize nominees include films that have resonated with global audiences, such as Copa 71, Frida, Mountain Queen, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, and Will and Harper.
The 18th annual Cinema Eye Honors Awards Ceremony will be held on January 9, 2025, at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem. Preceding the event, Cinema Eye Week will feature screenings, networking events, and celebrations for nominees and honorees.Among the week’s highlights is the Shorts List, featuring eleven semi-finalist films that will screen in New York and Los Angeles in December. Nominees for the Nonfiction Short Film Honor will be announced the following week.
Founded in 2007, Cinema Eye Honors is dedicated to recognizing artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking. It remains the only international awards body to honor entire creative teams, presenting accolades across directing, producing, cinematography, editing, composing, sound design, visual design, and performance.
The awards are a benchmark for the documentary industry, with past winners like Free Solo, 20 Days in Mariupol, and Navalny going on to secure Academy Awards. The 2025 ceremony is poised to continue this tradition, celebrating innovation and storytelling in nonfiction cinema.
Nonfiction Feature
Black Box Diaries
Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin, Ema Ryan Yamazaki, Yuta Okamura, Yuichiro Otsuka, Mark Degli Antoni and Andrew Tracy
Dahomey
Mati Diop, Eve Robin, Judith Lou Levy, Gabriel Gonzalez, Joséphine Drouin Viallard and Nicholas Becker
Daughters
Natalie Rae, Angela Patton, Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, Adrian Aurelius, Philip Nicolai Flindt, Michael Cambio Fernandez and Kelsey Lu
Look Into My Eyes
Lana Wilson, Kyle Martin, Hannah Buck and Stephen Maing
No Other Land
Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Julius Pollux Rothlaender and Bård Harazi Farbu
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Johan Grimonpre, Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety, Jonathan Wannyn, Rik Chaubet, Ranko Pauković and Alek Bunic Goosse
Sugarcane
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn, Christopher LaMarca, Nathan Punwar, Maya Daisy Hawke, Mali Obomsawin, Martin Czembor, Andrea Bella, Michael Feuser and Ed Archie Noisecat
Direction
Mati Diop
For Dahomey
Gary Hustwit
For Eno
Lana Wilson
For Look Into My Eyes
Elizabeth Lo
For Mistress Dispeller
Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
For No Other Land
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
For Sugarcane
Stephen Maing and Brett Story
For Union
Production
Shane Boris, Odessa Rae and Talal Derki
For Hollywoodgate
Emma D. Miller, Elizabeth Lo and Maggie Li
For Mistress Dispeller
Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning
For No Other Land
Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Aniela Sidorska, Camilla Mazzaferro and Olivia Ahnemann
For Porcelain War
Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn
For Sugarcane
Mars Verrone and Samantha Curley
For Union
Editing
Maya Tippet and Marley McDonald
For Eno
Alexandra Strauss
For Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Carla Gutiérrez
For Frida
Charlotte Tourres
For Intercepted
Hannah Buck
For Look Into My Eyes
Rik Chaubet
For Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Cinematography
Joséphine Drouin Viallard
For Dahomey
Elizabeth Lo
For Mistress Dispeller
Satya Rai Nagpual
For Nocturnes
Andrey Stefanov
For Porcelain War
Christopher LaMarca
For Sugarcane
Olivier Sarbil
For Viktor
Original Score
Wally Badarou and Dean Blunt
For Dahomey
Alexeï Aïgui
For Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Victor Hernández Stumpfhauser
For Frida
Nainita Dasai
For Nocturnes
Uno Helmersson
For The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Mali Obomsawin
For Sugarcane
Sound Design
Nicolas Becker
For Dahomey
Nas Parkash and Patrick Fripp
For Eno
Alex Lane
For Intercepted
Tom Paul, Shreyank Nanjappa and Sukanto Mazumder
For Nocturnes
Ranko Pauković and Alek Bunic Goosse
For Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Peter Albrechtsen, Nicolas Becker and Heikki Kossi
For Viktor
Visual Design
Brendan Dawes
For Eno
Sofía Inés Cázares and Renata Galindo
For Frida
Howard Baker
For Piece by Piece
Brendan Bellomo and BluBlu Studios
For Porcelain War
Agniia Galdanova
For Queendom
Rasmus Tukia and Ada Wikdahl
For The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Debut Feature
Black Box Diaries
Directed by Shiori Ito
Daughters
Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
Frida
Directed by Carla Gutiérrez
Grand Theft Hamlet
Directed by Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane
Hollywoodgate
Directed by Ibrahim Nash’at
No Other Land
Directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor
Audience Choice Prize Nominees
Copa 71
Directed by James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay
Daughters
Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
Frida
Directed by Carla Gutiérrez
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa
Directed by Lucy Walker
Porcelain War
Directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Directed by Benjamin Ree
Skywalkers: A Love Story
Directed by Jeff Zimbalist
Sugarcane
Directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Will and Harper
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Shorts List Semifinalists (nominees to be announced in December)
Contractions
Directed by Lynne Sachs | NY Times Op-Docs
Eternal Father
Directed by Ömer Sami | New Yorker
I Am Ready, Warden
Directed by Smriti Mundhra | MTV Documentary Films
Incident
Directed by Bill Morrison | New Yorker
Instruments of a Beating Heart
Directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki | NY Times Op-Docs
Love in the Time of Migration
Directed by Erin Semine Kökdil and Chelsea Abbas | LA Times
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
Directed by Julio Palacio | Netflix
The Medallion
Directed by Ruth Hunduma | New Yorker
A Move
Directed by Elahe Esmaili | NY Times Op-Docs
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Directed by Molly O’Brien | Netflix
A Swim Lesson
Directed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack | POV
Unforgettables Honorees
Shiori Ito
In Black Box Diaries
Brian Eno
In Eno
Lhakpa Sherpa
In Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa
Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham
In No Other Land
Patrice Jetter
In Patrice: The Movie
Jenna Marvin
In Queendom
Chris Smalls
In Union
Harper Steele
In Will and Harper
Spotlight
Black Snow
Directed by Alina Simone
Homegrown
Directed by Michel Premo
A New Kind of Wilderness
Directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A Photographic Memory
Directed by Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Directed by Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet
Heterodox
Caught by the Tides
Directed by Jia Zhang-ke
Kneecap
Directed by Rich Peppiatt
My First Film
Directed by Zia Anger
Pavements
Directed by Alex Ross Perry
Sing Sing
Directed by Greg Kwedar
Songs from the Hole
Directed by Contessa Gayles
Broadcast Film
Bread & Roses
Directed by Sahra Mani | Apple TV+
Girls State
Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss | Apple TV+
Great Photo, Lovely Life: Facing a Family’s Secrets
Directed by Amanda Mustard and Rachel Beth Anderson | HBO
The Lady Bird Diaries
Directed by Dawn Porter | Hulu
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.
Directed by Jeremy O. Harris | HBO
Spermworld
Directed by Lance Oppenheim | FX
Nonfiction Series
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
Directed by Greg Whiteley and Chelsea Yarnell | Netflix
Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court
Directed by Dawn Porter | Showtime
The Enfield Poltergeist
Directed by Jerry Rothwell | Apple TV+
The Luckiest Guy in the World
Directed by Steve James | ESPN
Ren Faire
Directed by Lance Oppenheim | HBO
Telemarketers
Directed by Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern | HBO
Anthology Series
Conan O’Brien Must Go
Executive Producers Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross | HBO
De La Calle
Executive Producers Nick Barili, Jared Andrukanis, Picky Talarico, Lydia Tenaglia, Christopher Collins, Amanda Culkowski, Bruce Gillmer and Craig H. Shepherd | Paramount+
God Save Texas
Executive Producers Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Richard Linklater, Peter Berg, Michael Lombardo, Elizabeth Rogers, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller | HBO
High on the Hog Season 2
Executive Producers Roger Ross Williams, Geoff Martz, Craig Piligian, Sarba Das, Fabienne Toback, Karis Jagger, Jessica B. Harris, Stephen Satterfield and Michele Barnwell | Netflix
How To with John Wilson Season 3
Executive Producers John Wilson, Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman and Clark Reinking | HBO
Photographer
Executive Producers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhely, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan, Anna Barnes and Chris Kugelman | National Geographic
Broadcast Editing
Girls State
Edited by Amy Foote | Apple TV+
The Greatest Night in Pop
Edited by Nic Zimmerman, Will Znidaric and David Brodie | Netflix
Ren Faire
Edited by Max Allman and Nicholas Nazmi | HBO
The Saint of Second Chances
Edited by Alan Lowe, Jeff Malmberg and Miles Wilkerson | Netflix
Telemarketers
Edited by Christopher Passig | HBO
Time Bomb Y2K
Edited by Marley McDonald and Maya Mumma | HBO
Broadcast Cinematography
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
Director of Photography Jonathan Nicholas | Netflix
The Enfield Poltergeist
Directors of Photography Ruben Woodin Deschamps, Carmen Pellon Brussosa and David Katznelson | Apple TV+
Girls State
Directors of Photography Martina Radwan, Daniel Carter, Laela Kilbourn, Erynn Patrick Lamont, Laura Hudock, Thorsten Thielow | Apple TV+
Photographer
Director of Photography Michael Crommett, Rita Baghdadi, Peter Hutchens, Melissa Langer and Pauline Maroun | National Geographic
Ren Faire
Director of Photography Nate Hurtsellers | HBO
You Were My First Boyfriend
Director of Photography Brennan Vance and J. Bennett | HBO