Cinema Eye today announced the ten nonfiction short films that have been named as semi-finalists for the 2017 Cinema Eye Honor for Nonfiction Short Film.

The announcement of the annual Cinema Eye “Shorts List” was made on the eve of the 2016 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a key festival partner and sponsor of the Cinema Eye Honors. For the third year in a row, all ten films will screen this weekend at CIFF on the coast of Maine.

“In the past few years, the short form has been one of documentary’s most exciting modes to engage subjects and stories,” said Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming for the San Francisco Film Society and the Chair of the Cinema Eye Shorts Committee. “This year is no exception as these 10 excellent films take us to unexpected places and introduce us to characters we’ve never seen before.”

Five films out of the ten on the Shorts List will be named as nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short. Nominees in that category and nearly a dozen feature film categories will be announced on Wednesday, November 2 in New York City. The winner will be announced at the 10th Annual Cinema Eye Honors Ceremony at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens on January 11, 2017

This year’s ten finalists are:

Bacon and God’s Wrath (Canada), Directed by Sol Friedman

The Black Belt (USA), Directed by Margaret Brown

Extremis (USA), Directed by Dan Krauss

Gatekeeper (Canada), Directed by Yung Chang

La Laguna (Mexico), Directed by Aaron Schock

My Aleppo (USA), Directed by Melissa Langer

Pickle (USA), Directed by Amy Nicholson

The Send-Off (USA), Directed by Ivette Lucas and Patrick Bresnan

Peace in the Valley (USA), Directed by Mike Palmieri and Donal Mosher

Uzu (Japan), Directed by Gaspard Kuentz

Finalists for the Short Filmmaking award were determined in voting by top short film/documentary programmers from international film festivals.  Members of this year’s Short Film Nominations Committee included: Chair Rachel Rosen (San Francisco), Claire Aguilar (Sheffield), Chris Boeckmann (True/False), Cara Cusumano (Tribeca), Ben Fowlie (Camden), Claudette Godfrey (SXSW), Doug Jones (Images Cinema), Ted Mott (Full Frame), Veton Nurkollari (Dokufest Kosovo), Dan Nuxoll (Rooftop), Mike Plante (Sundance), and Kim Yutani (Sundance).

This is the seventh year that Cinema Eye has presented an award for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking.