D. Smith’s feature debut Kokomo City leads the nominations for this year’s Cinema Eye Honors. The doc about the lives of four Black transwomen who are also sex workers scored six nominations. The film is up for Outstanding Nonfiction Fiction and Outstanding Direction, among other honours. On its heels are Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol, Sam Green’s 32 Sounds, and Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory with five nominations apiece, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature. Green and Alberdi are also in the running for direction. The quartet of nomination leaders are all Sundance premieres, as are many of the nominees across the board, which indicates the festival’s influence even if industry peers expressed concerns about the lack of sales at this year’s festival. Rounding out the top category are Four Daughters, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, directed by Davis Guggenheim.
On the Canadian front, the 2024 Cinema Eye Honors include a trio of homegrown nominations include Justine Martin’s Oasis for Outstanding Nonfiction Short, while Miryam Charles’ This House competes in the Spotlight category, as does the EyeSteelFilm produced Midwives, directed by Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing.
Winners will be announced on January 12, 2024.
The list of nominations announced today for the Cinema Eye Honours is as follows:
Outstanding Nonfiction Feature
20 Days in Mariupol
Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
Produced by Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCrudden
32 Sounds
Directed by Sam Green
Produced by Josh Penn and Thomas O. Kriegsman
The Eternal Memory
Directed by Maite Alberdi
Produced by Maite Alberdi, Juan De Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín and Rocío Jadue
Four Daughters
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
Produced by Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson and Tommy Oliver
Kokomo City
Directed by D. Smith
Produced by D. Smith, Harris Doran and Bill Butler
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Produced by Davis Guggenheim, Annetta Marion, Jonathan King and Will Cohen
Outstanding Direction
Sam Green | 32 Sounds
Wim Wenders | Anselm
Maite Alberdi | The Eternal Memory
Kaouther Ben Hania | Four Daughters
D. Smith | Kokomo City
Claire Simon | Our Body
Outstanding Editing
Michelle Mizner | 20 Days in Mariupol
Nels Bangerter | 32 Sounds
Carolina Siraqyan | The Eternal Memory
Mikel Cee Karlsson, Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson | Fantastic Machine
Alain Gomis | Rewind & Play
Michael Harte | Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Outstanding Production
Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCrudden | 20 Days in Mariupol
Lauren Domino, Matthew Heineman and Joedan Okun | American Symphony
Samuel Ekomol, Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thursnira | Between the Rains
Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen and Sue Mi Terry | Beyond Utopia
Christopher Sharp and John Battsek | Bobi Wine: The People’s President
Margreth Olin | Songs of Earth
Outstanding Cinematography
Franz Lustig | Anselm
Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor | De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Curren Sheldon | King Coal
D. Smith | Kokomo City
Ants Tammik | Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo | Songs of Earth
Outstanding Original Score
JD Samson | 32 Sounds
Jon Batiste | American Symphony
Leonard Küßner | Anselm
Samora Pinderhughes and Chris Pattishall | Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan | The Pigeon Tunnel
Rebekka Karijord | Songs of Earth
Outstanding Sound Design
Mark Mangini | 32 Sounds
Adam Prescod, Greg Gettens and Will Chapman | The Deepest Breath
Nicolas Becker | De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Roni Pillischer | Kokomo City
Huldar Freyr Arnarson and Edvard Egilsson | Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Arturo “Frosty” Salazar, María Alejandra Rojas and Alison O’Daniel | The Tuba Thieves
Outstanding Visual Design
Melissa McClung | The Arc of Oblivion
Thomas Curtis and Sean Pierce | Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Jason Carpenter and Holly Stone | The Mission
Hyung Cho and Helen Niu | Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV
Juan Carlos Concha Riveros, Carlos León Sancha and Marcello Quintanilha | They Shot the Piano Player
Outstanding Debut
20 Days in Mariupol | Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
Bobi Wine: The People’s President | Directed by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp
Kokomo City | Directed by D. Smith
Orlando, My Political Biography | Directed by Paul B. Preciado
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Directed by Anna Hints
The Tuba Thieves | Directed by Alison O’Daniel
Outstanding Nonfiction Short
Away | Directed by Ruslan Fedotow
Between Earth & Sky | Directed by Andrew Nadkami
Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games | Directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
Neighbour Abdi | Directed by Douwe Dijkstra
Oasis | Directed by Justine Martin
Will You Look at Me | Directed by Shuli Huang
Audience Choice Prize
20 Days in Mariupol | Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
American Symphony | Directed by Matthew Heineman
Beyond Utopia | Directed by Madeleine Gavin
Bobi Wine: The People’s President | Directed by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp
Confessions of a Good Samaritan | Directed by Penny Lane
The Deepest Breath | Directed by Laura McGann
The Eternal Memory | Directed by Maite Alberdi
Invisible Beauty | Directed by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng
Joan Baez I Am a Noise | Directed by Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky and Maeve O’Boyle
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Directed by Anna Hints
Spotlight
Against the Tide | Directed by Sarvnik Kaur
Anhell69 | Directed by Theo Montoya
Bad Press | Directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler
Cette Maison (This House) | Directed by Miryam Charles
Midwives | Directed by Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Q | Directed by Jude Chehab
Heterodox
The Buriti Flower | Directed by João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora
The Echo | Directed by Tatiana Huezo
Four Daughters | Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Past Lives | Directed by Celine Song
Reality | Directed by Tina Satter
The Unknown Country | Directed by Morrisa Maltz
The Unforgettables (Non-Competitive Honor)
American Symphony | Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad
Apolonia, Apolonia | Apolonia Sokol
Bobi Wine: The People’s President | Bobi Wine
Confessions of a Good Samaritan | Penny Lane
The Disappearance of Shere Hite | Shere Hite
The Eternal Memory | Augusto Góngora & Paulina Urrutia
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | Nikki Giovanni
Invisible Beauty | Bethann Hardison
Joan Baez I Am a Noise | Joan Baez
Kokomo City | Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell and Dominique Silver
The Pigeon Tunnel | David Cornwell aka John le Carré
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie | Michael J. Fox
A Still Small Voice | Margaret “Mati” Engel
Twice Colonized | Aaju Peter
While We Watched | Ravish Kumar
