Nonfiction Films Get Their Due at Cinema Eye Honors

***FEBRUARY 2, 2010 UPDATE: As of this morning, Cinema Eye Winners "Burma VJ," "The Cove," and "Food, Inc" received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature. Congratulations and good luck to all!


The stellar third annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, produced by founding sponsor Indiepix, came back to the TimesCenter in New York City with a new co-hostess, Esther Robinson, along with co-host and Cinema Eye veteran AJ Schnack, who delighted us mid-way through the ceremony with an audience participation Mad Lib. Always the charmer, about half-way through the show, Schnack carried in a bucket of Kentucky Grilled Chicken after showing a clip of the nominated Food Inc., where a woman reveals the horrible conditions of chicken coup where chickens are overfed for mass-consumption. At the beginning of the show, during a pre-taped introduction, Stranger Than Fiction’s Thom Powers hilariously expounded on the glorious nominees, while preggers wife Raphaela Neihausen goes into labor. Lots of humor abounded throughout the ceremony, keeping things running fresh and smooth. While an occasional long-winded acceptance speech may have slowed things down a little, overall, the third outing of the Cinema Eye Honors was one of the best so far. It is superbly wonderful that there is an awards show of this caliber like no other recognizing nonfiction filmmaking, with such presenters as Albert Maysles, Barbara Kopple, Amir Bar-Lev, Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, Doug Block and more.

Top prizes went to “The Cove” for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking and “October Country” for Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film.  

So what does it take to win a Cinema Eye Honor, you might ask? “Burma VJ” co-editor Thomas Papapetros told me exclusively at one of the after parties, “I got crapped on by a bird and won!” Not once, not twice, not even just three times, but a total of four times did Papapetros get a present from the sky on four different occasions, sealing “Burma VJ”s many festival wins. The first time he was crapped on by a bird was in Amsterdam during IDFA, and the film took home the top prize. The second time was in Copenhagen during CPH:DOX, and the film won. The third time he was actually home in Denmark, but he won an editing award at Sundance that same day. And finally, he got his latest gift in New York, before receiving his latest accomplishment, Outstanding Achievement in Editing at the Cinema Eye Honors. I guess getting crapped on by a bird is good luck after all, as they say, but in all seriousness, “Burma VJ” deservedly received all of its accolades on its own merit.

For the past two incarnations of the Cinema Eye Honors, Thom Powers had moderated roundtable discussions with some of the nominated filmmakers. This year instead of a panel, Thom conducted a brief Q&A with Cinema Eye Legacy Award honoree, “Sherman’s March,” by filmmaker Ross McElwee. Barbara Kopple introduced McElwee saying that in “Sherman’s March,” McElwee’s very outspoken, passionate, and direct friend Charleen decided she was the perfect woman for him, and they would grow old together and told him to shut the camera off saying “this is not about art, it’s about your life.” Kopple said that personally nailed it for her as what McElwee is all about and how much art he puts into his life being so honest and real, a pure filmmaker. Later on, Powers pointed out that McElwee will be at Stranger Than Fiction on February 2 showing two films, “Charleen” and “Backyard.” (I know where I’ll be that night.)

For the Q&A, Powers said he was shocked to read about “Sherman’s March” that for a two and a half hour film, McElwee only shot 25 hours of footage, which by today’s standards is something a filmmaker might accomplish in 2 days…has McElwee’s discipline changed at all moving from film to video and what was it like shooting so little footage? McElwee said he grew up shooting 16mm film. With the discipline it enforces as a crew of one person, he had to develop a way of shooting very little film. After his last film completed in 2004, he finally made the decision to switch to digital video. He said the easiest thing to do, especially for young filmmakers, is to overshoot everything. Powers next mentioned a scene in the film where McElwee’s father asks him how certain things that he shot would be useful for the film. “What’s remarkable about ‘Sherman’s March’…is that it was such a landmark film for opening up this kind of personal documentary,” Powers said. As McElwee was making it, what did he think was going to be useful, how was he choosing what to film? McElwee said that you might get the impression that it’s about nothing but him searching for a woman, but the challenge to him was to weave together several different themes and keep them into some sort of equilibrium moving forward. It’s a matter of developing a kind of intuition, thinking this might be amusing, it might turn up to be funny or poignant. It’s developing a set of radar. Spontaneity is important. 

The following is complete list of last night’s Cinema Eye Honorees:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking: “The Cove,” directed by Louie Psihoyos, produced by Paula DuPre Pesman and Fisher Stevens

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film: “October Country, directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher

Outstanding Achievement in Direction: Agnes Varda, “The Beaches of Agnes”

Outstanding Achievement in Production: Paula DuPre Pressman and Fisher Stevens, “The Cove”

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Brook Aitken for “The Cove”

Outstanding Achievement in Editing: Janus Billeskov-Jansen and Thomas Papapetros for “Burma VJ”

Outstanding Achievement in Grapic Design and Animation: Tie: Big Star for “Food, Inc” and “RIP - Remix Manifesto”

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score: “October Country”: Danny Grody, Donal Mosher, Michael Palmieri and Kenric Taylor

Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature: “Burma VJ,” directed by Anders Ostergard, produced by Lise-Lense Moeller

Audience Choice Prize: “The September Issue,” directed by RJ Cutler

Spotlight Award: “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo,” directed by Jessica Oreck

Cinema Eye Legacy Award: “Sherman’s March, directed by Ross McElwee

Documentaries: Then & Now @ The Woodstock Film Festival, October 4, 2009

Documentaries: Then and Now
October 4th, 2009, @ 10am
Utopia Studios, Bearsville, New York

L-R: Rachel Grady, Molly Thompson, Barbara Kopple, Leon Gast, and Emily Kunstler
Not Pictured: AJ Schnack

Moderator:
Molly Thompson, VP, A&E IndieFilms

Panelists:
AJ Schnack, Director, Convention
Rachel Grady, Director, Jesus Camp
Barbara Kopple, Director, Woodstock: Now and Then
Leon Gast, Director, When We Were Kings
Emily Kunstler, Director, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

When Molly Thompson asked what this panel was supposed to be about, she was told that the panel was to discuss how documentaries have evolved over the last decade: the length of time that the Woodstock Film Festival has been in existence.

Thompson asked Barbara Kopple how she thought documentaries had evolved the past ten years. Kopple responded that she thought that documentaries had started to evolve well before then. For Kopple, the beginning of the evolution of the documentary dated back to the advent of Cinema Verite, and filmmakers like D.A. Pennebaker and the Maysles Brothers, whom she considers to be a primary influence.

Leon Gast took it a step further back to Robert Flaherty, and his films like Nanook of the North. Gast first saw Flaherty's films as a student at Columbia University, where he studied film.

Barbara Kopple

Barbara Kopple posed an interesting hypothesis: maybe it isn't so much that documentaries have evolved the past ten years so much as the audiences have. "Documentaries are hot now, and people want to see them. We just spent the last eight years under the cobweb of the Bush Administration. We're just trying to break clear, and I know that Obama has his job set out for him. It's even more important for us at this point to keep on making films about the things we're passionate about, whether it's health care, Afghanistan, Iraq, hunger, or just subjects that we can shed a light on."

In spite of audiences having evolved, however, AJ Schnack mentioned that people often complain about how much staging goes on in documentaries, but pointed out that "People have an idea of what documentaries are supposed to be. Some people believe there are rules, or a rulebook, or a guidebook that you're supposed to follow. I don't think they understand the history of documentaries from Flaherty all the way to where we are today. There's a belief that there must be some method, some agenda, or that you have to have an exact document. Documentaries are an art form."

Kopple cited Tom DiCillo's When You're Strange as an example of how documentaries continue to evolve: "Everyone from The Doors thought, 'Okay, we should be interviewed, or this should happen.' But he was like, 'No. No interviews. We're just going to let you play. We'll have a wonderful narration behind it, and the images are what will mezmerize you, and take you into it, and I think it works."

Gast and Kopple, the veterans of the panel, discussed the complications of having worked on documentaries in the past. Kopple mentioned that when her movie American Dream was in its theatrical run, her mother had no idea where it was playing.

"When I was doing Harlan County and American Dream, no one wanted to fund me. 'Who wants to make a film about Coal Miners or Meatpackers?' At the time, I found this incredible place called 'The Foundation'. You had to be non-profit, tax exempt, and you could write to different foundations, different individuals, who would send money. You didn't have to pay it back, because it was a donation."

Kopple continued. "Now I think it's much easier because distributors like A&E and HBO are always looking for films. Other times, people will call you up and just ask, 'How would like to make a film on Woodstock '69?' They'll give you a budget that's not quite enough, and you'll argue. But I think there's just a real opportunity out there for people who want to make really interesting documentaries."

One of Leon Gast's early films was about Salsa music and culture. At the very most, Gast expected his movie would play the barrios, then maybe play parts of Mexico and South America.

They also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of video v. film:

Said Kopple, "I think with film, you are more diciplined because it costs more. With video, you can just go for it. I don't know that many people that are still shooting documentaries on film."

Leon Gast

Gast believes that technology has made shooting much easier: "One of the benefits of shooting today vs. the benefits of shooting then was when you were shooting on film, you had 10-11 minute rolls, and today, you have one hour rolls."

Many of the documentarians had interesting stories about their experiences making their movies. Rachel Grady recalled an event during the making of The Boys of Baraka that while, heartbreaking, felt it changed the course of the movie's story for the better.

Rachel Grady

"We were following this group of kids as part of a program, which was discontinued. We were so sad, so heartbroken that this happened, but it was really interesting, because a lot of things happened because of that. First of all, it made the movie more relevant because I couldn't think of a better metaphor of what happens to kids like this, who are really disenfranchised, and don't get a lot of opportunities."

"They get disappointed a lot because opportunities dry up and die away. For them, this is par the course, but because this happened, it made it a bigger story. But on a personal level it was also significant because Heidi (Ewing, Grady's collaborator) and I were devastated--the children ended up trying to comfort us. Which is why the amazing thing about filmmaking is that your subjects are constantly teaching you about yourself."

"It changed the whole film. It made it a bigger film. All the kids survived it, and created something that was more interesting."

During the making of Harlan County, USA, Kopple found herself as part of the coal miner's picket line: "The women were having a meeting, and they were saying, 'So who's going to be on the picket line tomorrow?' and everyone had to say their names. This woman named Lois turned around to me and said, 'Barbara, are you going to be on the picket line?'"

Kopple responded, "'Lois, of course, but I'm not supposed to be here. I'm invisible.' And she said, 'I have to write your name down. I need to know that you're going to be there.' Sometimes when you have a camera, it makes people more focused as to the kinds of ideas and what they want to do because somebody cared about what was happening."

Leon Gast had a story about Kopple. "Barbara had a Nagra she called 'The People's Nagra'. She had two Nagras. One that she used for her films, and then she had a 'People's Nagra' that she lent to filmmakers who didn't have the money to rent one."

The filmmakers gave a lot of valuable advice for aspiring filmmakers.

AJ Schnack, Rachel Grady, and Molly Thompson

Barbara Kopple advised one filmmaker to write a treatment: "Of course, you got to know that this is a documentary, real life, and things are subject to change, but you make so that it's one of two pages of your basic idea. It doesn't mean you have to deliver that."

When it comes to the editing room, Kopple encouraged filmmakers to put effort into displaying their progress: "For Harlan County and American Dream, I put together little scenes, and different people would come in and look at it. Always bring people into your editing suite. Don't ever send a DVD to them. Make them come in so they have the power of you being in an editing room, looking at material."

Emily Kunstler

Kunstler talked about the obstacles posed to novice filmmakers. "It's harder for a first-time filmmaker. I think that in addition to a treatment, they also want to see something, because it's hard for them to believe that you could actually pull it off if you don't have a track record. So actually, starting to shoot, and showing them what your vision is can be very helpful. That's how we persuaded people to believe in us from the beginning."

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe began as a personal archival project for future generations of her family, and was funded through ITVS. "They never accept your funding the first time you apply. You sort of have to knock on the door three times. For someone in my group of ITVS films, it was the fifth time they applied for funding. But what they do do is when they deny funding, they have a one-on-one consulting with the jury. They tell you what they loved about your film, and why they ultimately denied it. They encourage you to re-submit the next year, and that process really forces you to hone your ideas."

Thompson chimed in. "I heard a guy say to me, 'What about Flip cameras? Everyone can use a flip camera now and shoot your subject!' It's like, 'Yeah, you can get an image and footage of a person, but can you really sell your film with it?' I think you should be really careful and not show something that's not good enough."

AJ Schnack

At the end, AJ Schnack touched upon the proliferation of activist documentaries, such as movies by Michael Moore and Robert Greenwald, and suggested that documentarians needed to move away from that. "These films seem to wear you down with scolding about whatever they believe is the end of the world, and giving us a ten point plan as to what we're supposed to go out and do. There are tons of those films, and a lot of people are making them, and they can go make them. But I'd like to see movies where filmmakers find out why some parents want their kids indoctrinated into this Christian ideology. That's filming."

2009 Cinema Eye Honors Winners

A sold-out crowd attended last night's Cinema Eye Honors at TheTimesCenter in New York, hosted by co-chairs Thom Powers and AJ Schnack, who made a grand entrance sporting Mardi Gras regalia, as seen in Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths. Stay tuned for my notes from the mid-awards ceremony roundtable discussion moderated by Powers that included the previously mentioned Ms. Brown, The Betrayal - Nerakhoon co-directors Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath , Man on Wire director James Marsh, and My Winnipeg producer Jody Shapiro.

Here is the list of last night's outstanding achievement winners for nonfiction filmmaking:

Debut Feature: Up The Yangtze (Yung Chang)

Graphic Design and Animation: Waltz with Bashir (Yoni Goodman & David Polansky)

Music Composition: Waltz with Bashir (Max Richter)

Outstanding Editing: Man on Wire (Jinx Godfrey)

Outstanding Cinematography: Encounter at the End of the World (Peter Zeitlinger)

Audience Choice Award: Up the Yangtze (Yung Chang)

Outstanding Production: Man on Wire (Simon Chinn)

International Feature: Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)

Outstanding Direction: Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)

Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Filmmaking: Man on Wire (Dir: James Marsh; Prod: Simon Chinn)

'Cinema Eye' Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking Nominations Announced

'Cinema Eye' Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking Nominations Announced

More news on the 2008 Awards for Excellence in Nonfiction Filmmaking Announced, now called the 'Cinema Eye' Awards (named after the revolutionary group of young filmmakers led by pioneering documentarian Dziga Vertov). Nominations were announced yesterday during the Sundance Film Festival. Congratulations to all the nominees. Into Great Silence and Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) lead with six nominations each and five nominations for Lake Of Fire. IndiePix also announced the Audience Choice Award nominees. The awards ceremony will take place on March 18 at New York's IFC Center.

The Awards' Blue-ribbon committee of 12 programmers from North America's top Film Festivals, co-chaired by A.J. Schnack, Director of Kurt Cobain: About A Son, and Toronto Film Festival Documentary Programmer, Thom Powers, selected the nominees by voting for five films each, in preferential order, from a list of 76 eligible films.

And the nominees are:

Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil, Director - Asger LethProducers - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor and Mikael Rieks
Into Great Silence, Director - Philip GröningProducers - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
Manufactured Landscapes, Director - Jennifer BaichwalProducers - Jennifer Baichwal, Daniel Iron & Nick de Pencier
The Monastery - Mr. Vig & the Nun, Director - Pernille Rose GrønkjærProducer - Sigrid Dyekjær
Please Vote For Me, Director - Weijun ChenProducer - Don Edkins

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature
Billy The Kid - Jennifer Venditti
Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) - Jason Kohn
The Monastery - Mr. Vig and the Nun - Pernille Rose Gronkjær
No End In Sight - Charles Ferguson
A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams And The Warhol Factory - Esther B. Robinson

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning
Lake Of Fire - Tony Kaye
Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) - Jason Kohn
Taxi To The Dark Side - Alex GibneyZoo - Robinson Devor

Outstanding Achievement in Producing
Blindsight - Sybil Robson Orr
Chicago 10 - Brett Morgan & Graydon Carter
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
Lake Of Fire - Tony Kaye
Manda Bala - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Crazy Love - David Zieff
Flying: Confessions Of A Free Woman - Niels Pagh Andersen
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil - Adam Nielsen
Lake Of Fire - Peter GoddardManda Bala - Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
No End In Sight - Chad Beck and Cindy Lee

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning
Lake Of Fire - Tony KayeManda Bala - Heloisa Passos
Manufactured Landscapes - Peter MettlerZoo - Sean Kirby

Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation
Chicago 10 - Animation by Curious Pictures
Helvetica - Motions Graphics by Trollbäck & Co.
The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair - Graphic Design by Petra Epperlein
The Unforeseen - Motion Graphics by Jef SewellSuper Amigos - Animation by David Quesnelle

The Audience Choice Prize
Deep Water - Directors - Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
In The Shadow Of The Moon - Director - David Sington
Into Great Silence - Director - Philip Gröning
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - Director - Julien Temple
The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters - Director - Seth Gordon
Manufactured Landscapes - Director - Jennifer Baichwal
No End In Sight - Director - Charles Ferguson
Sicko - Director - Michael Moore

Visit the Nonfiction Awards web site - http://www.indiepixfilms.com/awards?ref=iba for more information about the Awards for Excellence in Nonfiction Filmmaking and the voting process.